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Rajasthan farmers face heavy losses as locusts wreak havoc

Swarms of locusts have caused extensive damage to rabi crops in 300 villages in Rajasthan's Jalore district. With the authorities unsuccessful in countering the menace, the farmers are left to fend for themselves.

Locusts wreak havoc in Rajasthan
Locusts wreak havoc in Rajasthan

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Published : Jan 2, 2020, 3:09 PM IST

Updated : Jan 2, 2020, 5:41 PM IST

Jalore (Rajasthan): Farmers in Rajasthan's Jalore district are facing heavy losses, as swarms of locusts have created mayhem by causing widespread damage to the rabi crops.

According to reports, all through the month of December, locust attacks have affected as many as 300 villages in the district.

Locusts wreak havoc in Rajasthan

Initially, swarms of locusts from the Barmer border twice attacked the Nehad region and turned towards Gujarat.

However, the swarms again entered the Sanchor region from the Gujarat border, and have been attacking field after field in the district for the past nine days.

Sanchor and Chitalwana regions have been the worst affected, with 98 and 72 villages being attacked respectively.

Apart from the above two, farmers in Raniwara, Bhinmaal, and Sayla regions have also faced heavy losses.

Read: Gujarat govt claims locust menace in north Gujarat under control

According to reports, the authorities have so far been largely unsuccessful at countering the locust menace, as they are not able to eliminate the large number of insects.

As a result, the farmers have expressed their displeasure.

Amraram, a farmer, said that all of his cumin crops have been destroyed by the locusts, and he is currently in a hapless situation.

At a time when the nation was revelling in New Year celebrations, the hapless farmers were up all night with their families, trying to guard their fields from the locusts.

Farmers have been resorting to various measures to keep off the swarms, including burning tyres, playing drums and clanging metal objects.

Read: WATCH: Locust swarms from Pak destroy crops in 2 Gujarat districts

Last Updated : Jan 2, 2020, 5:41 PM IST

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