India braces for worst locust attack in three decades: Authorities procure drones, pesticides but financial damage from crop loss to be huge
Firstpost May 29, 2020 Already overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic, farmers in north India are now worrying over the kharif crop even as a new wave of locust attack, predicted to be the worst in almost three decades, is expected by June. “Locusts are a regular feature in the country but this attack is huge. It is a once-in-a-three-decade situation and timed very badly for us as we are already dealing with coronavirus,” Soumitra Dasgupta, Inspector General, Wildlife, Ministry of Environment and Forests, told PTI . Desert locusts have engulfed around 35,000 hectares in seven of India’s states, threatening some vegetable and pulse crops, government officials and farm experts told Reuters . In April, locusts flew in from Pakistan and wreaked havoc in 18 districts of Rajasthan and 12 districts of Madhya Pradesh, sending farmers into a scurry to save their wheat and oilseed crops. But earlier this week, swarms flew into Jaipur’s Murlipura and Vidhyadhar...