The black cotton soil in Virudhunagar district will not provide a conducive atmosphere to locusts, according to experts. This was revealed at a meeting of officials from various departments to discuss means to mitigate locust attack. The meeting was chaired by Virudhunagar Collector, R. Kannan, on Wednesday.

Professor and Head of Regional Research Station, Aruppukottai, Rajavel and Professor and Head of Cotton Research Station, Srivilliputtur, Vimala, exuded hope that there would be no damage due to locust attacks in Virudhunagar due to the black cotton soil.

The Collector instructed the Departments of Agriculture and Forests to keep a tab on the movement of locusts.

Forests officials should immediately alert the district administration if locusts movement was found in forest areas, Besides, they should also properly document cases if such an invasion was reported, the Collector instructed.

All Departments including Fire and Rescue should work in coordination to prevent any damage by locusts attack, he added.

Large swarms of locusts have been attacking crops in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra after they entered India through Rajasthan from African countries after crossing Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the statement said.

Project Director (District Rural Development Agency), Suresh, Joint Director (Agriculture), Sankar S. Narayanan, Deputy Director (Horticulture), Sheela John, District Forest Officer, Rajkumar, District Officer (Fire and Rescue), Ganesan, Assistant Executive Engineer, (Agricultural Engineering), Shanthi Sahaya Seeli, were present at the meeting.