India first country to control locusts through drones: Agriculture ministry

The Union Ministry of Agriculture on Saturday said that India had become the first country to have controlled locusts by using drones

The Union Ministry of Agriculture on Saturday said that India is the first country to control locusts by using drones.

"India is the first country to control locust by using drones after finalising the protocols and getting all statutory approvals. Major operations are concentrated in Rajasthan where maximum resources are committed," the Agriculture Ministry said in a release.

According to the information given by the ministry, 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.

More control teams from Rajasthan have been moved to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to help control operations being carried out to ward away locusts in these two states, the release said.

Ground control teams are constantly tracking them and will undertake major control operations once they settle down.