13 Jul, 2020
By Laxman Kafle Rising Nepal
Kathmandu, July 13: Locust swarms entered Nepal again on Sunday, further worrying the farmers.
A group of locusts has been seen in Gadhuwa Rural Municipality of Dang district this morning, said Ram Krishna Subedi, information officer of Plant Quarantine and Pest Management Centre.
Earlier, locust swarms had entered Nepal on June 28, which have almost disappeared without causing any significant damage to the crops.
As per the report received from the local levels of Dang, he said that swarms covered fields and farms in wards 2 and 3 of Deukhuri Municipality in the morning.
Local farmers have been worried after the swarms covered the fields and farms though they chased them away by beating empty containers and producing noise.
“Locust swarms stayed around one/two hours in Gadhuwa Rural Municipality and flew towards Pyuthan and Arghakhanchi. But there is no report whether they landed there by this evening,” he told The Rising Nepal.
As per the information received from the locals, the group of locusts seemed to be bigger than the swarms that had entered Nepal two weeks ago, he informed.
There might be 1 to 1.2 million insects in a swarm.
Subedi, who is also focal person of Locust Information Centre established at the Plant Quarantine and Pest Management Centre, said that chances of other locust swarms entering Nepal from Janakpur soon was also high.
He said that the locust swarm which was flying above Gorakhpur and Sitapur of India entered Nepal from Dang district today.
The wind is blowing northward from Rajasthan so the probability of other locust swarms entering Nepal within two days is high, he said, adding that they had already instructed technical teams and state and local governments for preparedness to minimise the losses.He urged the farmers to stay alert to chase the locusts by beating utensils and minimise the losses.
The first batch of locusts had damaged crops in around 1,118 hectares of land in various places across the country.
The locusts had damaged crops, mostly maize and vegetables, mainly in five districts — Dang, Pyuthan, Makwanpur, Arghakhachi and Palpa.
आषाढ़ २९ गते, २०७७ मा प्रकाशित
