The state government had asked the Border Security Force (BSF) to keep an eye on locust invaders and issue a warning if potential locust swarm is heading for the state.
The state revealed this following a special discussion on the locust attack on farms in North Gujarat, particularly in Banaskantha. MLAs Punja Vansh and Geniben Thakore, among others, had sought to know from the government why had the menace spread despite the state being warned about it beforehand.
Thakore said that the attack was first reported in Godhra; 18 days later it had spread to other villages. "We would like to know if the government plans to compensate farmers for their loss due to the locust attack," said Thakore. Vansh said that the attack that was initially restricted to 3 to 4 villages had spread to 13 to 14 villages, yet, the government claims that things are under control.
Agriculture minister RC Faldu said that Kutch, Jamnagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Patan, and Banaskantha had reported the attacks, and several teams had been deployed to address the problem.
"The state had been informed of a potential locust attack on May 8. On the same day a meeting was held to take preventive measures," said Faldu. He said the aim was to prevent the locusts from breeding. "Locusts come out during the monsoon to breed. So far we have used pesticides to kill pests and their eggs," he said.
He said the state has also distributed pamphlets to villagers guiding them what to do in case of an attack. It had also opened a 24-hour control room in Palampur to get live reports of the situation and has asked the BSF to inform the state in case of potential swarm.
The state informed that the presence of locust was first detected on June 27 in Banaskantha and six teams including two from the Centre were still stationed in the state to deal with infestation. A locust attack was last reported in the state in 1993-94.
