Around 70 per cent of locust swarm eliminated in UP's Jalaun: Official

Around 70 per cent of the locust swarm that entered Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun was eliminated in a six-hour-long operation, an Agriculture Department official said on Sunday.

Jalaun Deputy Director (Agriculture) RK Twari said chemicals were sprayed on the swarm of locusts which entered Jalaun from Jhansi on Saturday night.

“The anti-locusts operation continued for six hours from 10 pm to 4 am. In the operation, 70 per cent of the locusts were killed," he said.

The rest of the swarm flew towards Kalpi tehsil of the district, he said.

Tiwari said since the locusts invaded in the evening, no damage was caused to crops.

“If the swarm had invaded in the morning, there would have been difficulties in dealing with it," he said, adding that officials are maintaining a watch on locusts and efforts are being made to ensure that crops are not damaged.

Meanwhile, UP's Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi told PTI, "In the morning, there was news of locusts from Sant Kabir Nagar and Kushinagar. Late night, operations were undertaken to kill a swarm of locusts. Generally, the insects fly in the morning and settle during night, when anti-locust operations are initiated."