Gujarat seeks Centre's help in tackling locust threat

Gandhinagar, July 5 (UNI) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to instruct the Union Agriculture Ministry to lend support to the state in tackling the impending threat of desert locusts from Somalia hitting Kutch and other coastal areas.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Modi said the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations had issued a warning that locust swarms from Somalia may hit Gujarat within a few days.

Mr Modi, however, said the threat of locust swarms, flying in from Somalia, was still not over and some locusts had already been sighted in Kutch district. Besides this, he said the region had experienced its first rain and the wet conditions would encourage the breeding of locusts once they landed here.

He also brought the notice of Dr Singh that the district had suffered massive loss of life and property in recent years in view of the massive earthquake and therefore any further damage to agriculture and grasslands will only aggravate the situation.

Mr Modi said an effective advance action will save poor farmers in these vulnerable districts from economic peril, that may emerge from the threat.

Latest information suggests that Kutch, Banaskantha, Patan, Rajkot, Surendranagar and Jamnagar areas are likely to face the threat of locust attacks.

UNI