Unable to contain locusts’ attack, the Centre has decided to use helicopters to spray pesticides in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will on Tuesday flag off a helicopter from Greater Noida for locust control operation. The helicopter will be used for the first time for such operations in India. The use of helicopter in India will be in addition to the deployment of drones for this purpose. India is also the first country in the world to use drones for locust control.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Bell 206-B3 helicopter, having a pesticide carrying capacity of 250 litres in one trip, will fly for Air capacity of 250 litres in one trip, will fly for Air Force Station at Uttarlai, Barmer. It”ll then be deployed for locust control operations in desert area of Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Nagaur. The helicopter with spray equipment can cover about 25 to 50 hectares of area in one flight.
“The Helicopter firm M/s. Malhotra Helicopters has been finalised for conduct of single pilot operation, which can cover about 25 to 50 hectare area in one flight. The total contract value is in the tune of Rs 1.25 crore for a minimum guarantee of 100 hours in 60 days and there is a incentive clause of Rs 10 lakh. The move comes after the Food and Agriculture Organization”s Locust update that locust swarms that accumulate in northern Somalia are likely to migrate across the Indian Ocean to the summer breeding areas along the Indo-Pakistan border. In Pakistan, swarms have already started laying eggs in Sindh and swarms are present in the Indus Valley.
“Aerial spraying of insecticides is being done by drones in the regions of Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Nagore, and Jodhpur districts of Rajasthan to curb the locust menace,” agriculture ministry official said.
According to the ministry, it has engaged five companies to provide services of drones for locust control. Each company will provide five drons. Till now 12 drones have been deployed for locust control in Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Nagaur.
India has become the first country in the world to use drones for locust control after finalizing the protocols. Total amount sanctioned for deployment of drones is 1.2 crore for a period of 30 days. “Use of Drones has added one additional dimension as it is effective for tall trees and inaccessible areas. One drone can cover 16-17 hectare area in one hour and in 4 hours it can cover upto 70 hectare area,” the official said.
The ministry claims that control operations have been done in 2,33,487 hectares in States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Bihar between April 11 and June 28. “No Significant crop losses have been reported in the States of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Haryana. However, some minor crop losses have been reported in some districts of Rajasthan,” it said. To strengthen locust control capabilities in India, 10 ground spray equipments were imported from Micron, UK, during January, 2020 and 15 equipments in June, 2020. Additional 45 ground spray equipments will reach in the month of July and Locust Circle Offices have more than 100 ground control equipment by July.
Presently 60 control teams with spray equipment mounted vehicles and more than 200 Central Government personnel are engaged in locust control operations. According to ministry, 55 additional vehicles have been purchased to strengthen the control capabilities.
