Says fully geared up to handle any eventuality. | |
| Discarding the fears of a locust attack on agriculture crops, the government today said the situation is not grave and it is fully alert to handle any eventuality in this regard. |
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| The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) had recently warned India that two swarms by desert locusts are headed towards the sub-continent. These hungry insects fly very fast with the wind and is a threat to agricultural production. |
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| Agriculture Secretary P K Mishra said, "They (FAO) gave a warning around June 27-28 and from that day onwards we are on the job." |
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| The team deployed in the Kutch district of Gujarat spotted some locusts in some coastal areas of Kutch two days ago, Mishra said. |
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| "According to the current information, they (locusts) are in limited numbers and they have already gone towards the Rann of Kutch. So it is not much of a concern," he said, adding, "still, we are alert and all measures are being taken to face the situation". |
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| The secretary said teams were already deployed in Kutch fully equipped with chemicals and equipment. |
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| The locust warning organisation of the agriculture ministry, along with the state government teams, was there, he added. |
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| The FAO had said conditions in western India along the Indo-Pak border were turning unusually favourable for breeding because of heavy rains. |
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| Newswire18 adds: Rajasthan is taking steps to face a locust threat as the FAO has warned that swarms of locusts could cross the Indian Ocean from Ethiopia and Somalia and reach India and Pakistan in the coming days. |
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| "Desert locust swarms from Ethiopia and northern Somalia are expected to cross the Indian Ocean and could reach India and Pakistan in the next few days," FAO said in a statement. |
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| These swarms can damage crops devastatingly. Agriculture experts say desert locusts can consume an approximate equivalent of their body mass each day (2 gm) in green vegetation. |
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| "We are closely monitoring the situation," Kiran Soni Gupta, divisional commissioner, Jodhpur, said. |
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| Nearly all crops, and non-crop plants, such as pearl millet, rice, maize, sorghum, sugarcane, barley, cotton fruit trees, date palm and vegetables, are at risk. |
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| "Though we have been told the threat is not as great as thought earlier, we are not taking any chances. We are mobilising field teams and equipment and resources including pesticides to control the threat in the state," Gupta said. |
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| "We have already spoken to district collectors on the issue, and are constantly monitoring the situation," she said. |
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