PM Narendra Modi assures help to all states affected by locust attack

PTI photo

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (May 30) assured that those affected by the locust attacks in certain parts of the country will be helped by the government. "Help will be given to all those affected by the locust attacks that have been taking place in the recent days," PM Modi said in his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' today.

On May 28, the government said a total of 377 spots covering 53,997 hectares have been covered under locust control operations since April 11. Locust control operations have been conducted in 11 districts of Rajasthan, 24 of Madhya Pradesh, three in Maharashtra, two each in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, and one in Punjab.

As per a government bulletin, several successive waves of locust invasions can be expected until July in Rajasthan with eastward surges across northern India as far as Bihar and Odisha, followed by westward movements and a return to Rajasthan with changing winds associated with the monsoon. According to the Ministry of Environment, Rajasthan is the most affected state due to locust attack.

Several areas of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have been witnessing worst invasion of locusts in years. In Bihar, the locust menace has increased the anxiety of farmers, especially mango and litchi growers. According to agriculture scientist Dr Rajesh Kumar the grasshoppers have entered India due to a change in weather conditions. Swarms are less likely to reach south India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

The desert locust is a species of locust, a swarming short-horned grasshopper. They are known to devour everything in their path, posing an unprecedented threat to food supply and livelihoods of millions of people.