Rajasthan: IAF chopper deployed in Jodhpur for locust control operations

For the first time in India, a helicopter was used to destroy locusts in the border areas in Rajasthan on Sunday. An Mi-17 helicopter of the Indian Air Force carried out aerial spraying of pesticides in Jodhpur district, the first such instance in the history of the air force, an agriculture ministry official said. India is facing the worst-ever locust attacks in three decades. Swarms of the marauding pests have been witnessed in various districts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Locust swarms had descended in the desert areas of Rajasthan in April this year spread prompting the government to launch massive control operations.