Rajkot: Gujarat Agriculture minister R C Faldu said that efforts were on to contain and destroy the locusts which were causing damage to crops in various areas of North Gujarat but he ruled out any possibility of sprinkling of pesticide through choppers as suggested by a ruling party MLA.

Talking to newsmen here Faldu said that the locusts had come to India from Oman via Afghanistan and Pakistan. The state and center’s team were taking every possible measure to contain and destroy them.

‘In Gujarat we had distributed low power pesticides to the farmers to deal with locusts but it has proved to be inefficient. Now in North Gujarat efforts were being made to minimize the losses and kill them during the night by taking them to non agricultural fields. 18 teams were working for it and even more teams will be included in it,’ he said.

He said that it was not possible to sprinkle the pesticide from choppers as it would be dangerous for the people and the cattle alike.

Notably, MLA of the ruling BJP from Kheralu area in locust affected Mahesana district had demanded such initiative to kill the locusts.

To a query Faldu also said that it was wrong to say that the government was involving school children in shooing away locusts. ‘We had only instructed the district agriculture officers that educated people should be involved in spreading awareness about the locusts,’ he said.

Notably the terror of locust is spreading in larger areas of North Gujarat and helpless farmers were trying all kind of things from creating smoke to playing high sounding Disco Jockey (DJ) system to get rid of it.

The locusts that had entered Gujarat from Rajasthan side on December 14, have caused damage to the standing crops of castor, black mustard seed, wheat, aniseed, cotton etc in parts of Banaskantha, Patan and Mahesana districts.

DeshGujarat