Swarms of locusts reach Punjab; threaten orchards in villages along Indo-Pak border

Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 3

Swarms of locusts have reached Punjab, threatening the orchards in villages falling along the Indo-Pak border.

On Sunday evening, residents of Wareka and Rupnagar villages in Khuian Sarwar block of Fazilka, reported seeing swarms of locusts, hovering over their orchard plantations. They immediately alerted the district authorities, and emergency response team of the Agriculture department, led by Agriculture director Sutantar Kumar Airi and GDA Gurwinder Singh, rushed there.

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According to information available with The Tribune, the officials immediately sprayed pesticides over the affected 450-odd trees in the area. On Monday morning, boomer sprays were again sprayed on the affected orchards. 

Talking to The Tribune, Airi said they were on the job to handle the situation, and was hopeful that things would be brought under control. “We have sufficient pesticides at our disposal and the locust will be contained in this area itself,” he said.