Possible locust threat: Telangana on high alert

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday instructed officials to be on high alert as there may be a possible attack of locusts swarms in the state.

Rao held a review meeting here on measures to be taken to protect the state from the possible attack by the locusts, after obtaining the latest information on the location and movement of the grasshoppers.

The swarms, which had entered the country last month in three phases in the worst invasion in years, came up to Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

The insects which had come near Telangana recently were now said to beat Azmi village near Ramtek in Maharashtra, about 200 km away from the state borders, an official release said.

If they travel towards the South, they may reach Telangana within a short span of time, it said.

According to experts there is a possibility of locusts hitting the state anytime between June 20 and July 5 during which time monsoon crops season would begin in Telangana.

Hence, the chief minister instructed that strict measures should be taken to prevent the invasion.

Rao asked District Collectors and other officials in eight districts bordering Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh to be on alert and review the situation from time to time and act accordingly.

He constituted a special team under leadership of Chief SecretarySomesh Kumar to oversee the measures.

The team will monitor the movement of the locusts and suggest necessary measures to be taken.