Rajasthan government has suggested to the Centre to consider diplomatic measures to minimise the damage afflicted by millions of locusts on hapless farmers who have been at the receiving end of the attack.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wrote on Twitter, “As #Rajasthan is affected by #LocustsAttack – GoR has been providing the best possible help including pesticides, sprays, drone supervision, etc. to the Locusts Department which falls under GoI.”

“This time since locusts have originated from Africa and entered India via Pakistan – GoI may also consider Diplomatic measures to minimise the damages,” CM Ashok Gehlot said.

Since Sunday, swarms of locust have been tormenting farmers in Rajasthan as has been the case for the past year. Earlier this year, Rajasthan Chief Minister had sought assistance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deal with the large scale destruction of crops by locusts.

In Sriganganagar in Western Rajasthan, a district bordering Pakistan, scores of farmers are now looking at ways to deal with the destruction of their cotton crops owing to the locust menace. “50 per cent of my crops have been damaged by these locusts,” a farmer from Sriganganagar told India Today.

As #Rajasthan is affected by #LocustsAttack – GoR has been providing best possible help including pesticides, sprays, drone supervision, etc. to the Locusts Department which falls under GoI.

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) June 24, 2020

Several farmers in the same district were seen resorting to desperate measures such as beating steel utensils and even running tractors through fields in a bid to scare off the locusts. These farmers are feeling the pinch upon witnessing the destruction of a good crop after many years.

At least 10 to 12 districts in Rajasthan bore the brunt of the latest locust attacks on Sunday and Monday. The insects ravaged cotton crops spread over thousands of hectares in various parts of Rajasthan. The worst affected areas include Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Barmer, Sriiganganagar, Jodhpur, Jalore and Phalodi.

The locusts, which entered Rajasthan covered thousands of miles, following the route of Saudi Arabia – Pakistan.
These locusts have come across as a bad omen for farmers already reeling under the pressure of a dwindling economy and a global pandemic. Earlier this year, officials attached to the Ministry of Agriculture carried out an exercise during which chemicals were sprayed to neutralize the locusts but these efforts seem to have fallen short.

Often, farmers and their family members, during late afternoons and evenings, played loud music and wither burnt wood or ran tractors through their fields in the night after removing its silencer to scare away locusts but these techniques have also been of little help lately.