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New Delhi : Starting from April 11, 2020, till July 23, 2020, control operations have been done in 2,02,565 hectares area in States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana by Locust Circle Offices (LCOs). Till July 23, 2020, control operations were carried out in 1,98,657 hectares area in States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Bihar by State Governments.
In the intervening night of July 23- 24, 2020, control operations were carried out at 30 places in 6 districts viz. Barmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Churu, Nagaur, and Sriganganagar of Rajasthan by LCOs. Besides this, Rajasthan State Agriculture Departments also carried out control operations at 1 place in Bharatpur district in the intervening night of July 23-24, 2020, against small groups and scattered population of locusts.
At presenty, 104 control teams with spray vehicles are deputed / deployed in the State/s of Rajasthan, and Gujarat, and more than 200 Central Government personnel are engaged in locust control operations. Aerial spraying capacity has been strengthened for anti-locust operations. A Bell helicopter has been deployed in Rajasthan for use in Scheduled Desert Area as per the need. Indian Air Force is also conducting trials in anti-locust operation by using Mi-17 helicopter. The results are encouraging. Further, 5 companies with 15 drones are deployed at Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Nagaur, and Phalodi in Rajasthan for effective control of locusts on tall trees and in inaccessible areas through spraying of pesticides, according to a PIB release.
No significant crop losses have been reported in the States of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Haryana. However, some minor crop losses have been reported in some districts of Rajasthan.
On July 24, 2020, swarms of immature pink locusts and adult yellow locusts were active in Barmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Churu, Nagaur, Sriganganagar, and Bharatpur districts of Rajasthan.