NEW DELHI: As crop-threatening locust swarm enters the outskirts of Delhi, the Union Agriculture Ministry on Saturday said more teams from Rajasthan have been deputed to help in the control operations being undertaken in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The locusts keep flying during day time and settle down only after dark in the evening. Ground control teams are constantly tracking them and will undertake major control operations once they settle down, it said, adding the control teams in Uttar Pradesh have been alerted in this regard.
It added that the control operations are underway in Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. "More control teams from Rajasthan have been moved to Haryana and UP to help in the locust control operations being carried out in these two states," the ministry said in a statement.
Locust swarms were noticed in Jhunjhunu (Rajasthan) in the morning of June 26, and control teams were deployed to eliminate the locusts. The leftover locusts regrouped and reached Rewari in Haryana on June 26 evening, where control operations were undertaken till Saturday early morning, it said.
It added that the leftover locusts again regrouped and the swarm divided into three groups, one of which moved towards Gurugram, and from there to Faridabad and onwards to Uttar Pradesh. According to the ministry, another locust swarm moved towards Dwarka in Delhi, from there to Daulatabad, Gurugram, Faridabad and this swarm has also entered Uttar Pradesh.
The third group was seen in Palwal (Haryana) and has also moved towards Uttar Pradesh. "As of now, no locust swarms are spotted in any city areas," it said.
All the groups of locust swarms are being tracked by teams of the State Agriculture Departments of Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, local administrations and officials of the Central Locust Warning Organisation, and control operations are underway, the ministry added.