Telangana govt taking precautions to avert entry of locusts into state: CM

The Telangana government on Thursday said it is taking all precautions to prevent locusts from entering the state and officials have been instructed to keep pesticides ready at the state's borders with Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who held a meeting with officials and scientists on the issue of locust swarms, said the Collectors and officials of districts in neighbouring Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh have been alerted.

Fire engines, jetting machines and pesticides have been kept ready as part of measures to deal with the situation, an official release said. A five-member committee has been appointed to supervise measures to prevent the locust swarms, which can wreck havoc in agriculture, from entering the state, it said.

Officials informed the Chief Minister that the locusts are presently said to be moving towards Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh via Bhandara and Gondia in Maharashtra. The locusts have entered the country via Rajasthan, it said.

Experts estimate that the locusts are likely to travel to north India and move towards Punjab. However, there are some chances of the locusts entering Telangana via Chhattisgarh if the wind blows towards the south, it said.

The locusts are said to travel in the direction of the wind. "Though the chances are less that the locusts wouldenter the state, the CM, however, decided to take all the precautions," it said.

Saying that large-scale efforts are on at Gondia to check the locusts, Rao suggested that the pests should be eliminated at the state borders itself by spraying pesticides. The five-member committee, appointed by the state government, would camp at Ramagundam near Karimnagar for four days.

The situation along the Godavari river from Adilabad to Bhadrachalam in Khammam district (bordering Andhra Pradesh) would be monitored by a helicopter. If the swarm of locusts is traced, they will monitor the measures to eliminate the locusts, the release said.

The government directed that 15,000 litres of chlorpyrifos, malathion and other pesticides should be kept ready at the borders of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. It also instructed that 12 fire engines and 15 jetting machines be kept ready.

The state Chief Secretary, DGP and senior officials of agriculture, disaster management and vice-chancellor of state agriculture university would monitor the situation from time to time and hold consultations with the governments of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. Steps would be taken accordingly, it said.

Meanwhile, when contacted, an official of the Met centre in Hyderabad said they have not made any prediction whether the locusts would enter Telangana or not. However, its radar can capture the movement if they do, the official added.

(Photo Credit: PTI)