Locust swarms cause flutter in Haryana districts

HISAR/ROHTAK: Locust swarms on Saturday once again attacked parts of Haryana, mostly western and south-western districts of the state, including Sirsa, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri and Mahendragarh, though no major loss has been reported from anywhere so far. A huge locust swarm coming from Rajasthan side entered Madhosinghana, Malekan, Nanakpur, Mangala and Rangri Kherai villages of Sirsa district. While the farmers claimed the swarm to be 15-20km long, the agriculture department officials said it was two-km long and two-km wide.
According to the villagers, the locusts first entered Madhosinghana village at around 2.30pm and then spread over to more areas covering Modia Khera, Chauburja, Rangari Khera, Malekan and Nanakpur villages.
As the swarm entered the area, the villagers, agriculture department employees and police personnel started making noise to scare them away, they said.
Rangari Khera village sarpanch Chandrashekhar said when the locust swarm came to the village, it felt like a dark cloud covering the sky. He said the locust swarm is sitting on the cotton plant and the villagers are trying to scare them away.
Mahendragarh district saw locusts entering on Friday night and then moved to Bhiwani on Saturday morning and reached Charkhi Dadri district by the evening.
Farmers in these districts made loud noise to prevent the insects from settling on their cotton and bajra crops, while the district administration carried out sprays to eliminate the locusts.
In Mahendragarh, locusts settled in Kurahwata, Palri Panihari and nearby villages, while the swarm reached Loharu side of Bhiwani district, and in Charkhi Dadri districts, locusts visited Hindola, Lamba, Kohlawas, Kasni and Saunf villages. A farmer in Charkhi Dadri said they were taking all precautions and measures to not allow the locusts to settle on the crops.