CAO Baramulla visits several villages, allays panic
Asif Iqbal
Srinagar, Jun 3: (GNS) Anxiety gripped farmers in north Kashmir’s Sopore town after farmers mistook dragonflies for locusts and demanded immediate intervention of the officials of the agricultural department.
Reports reaching GNS said that the people were panicked after some farmers raised an alarm over spotting dragonflies in a field but mistook them for locusts.
Confirming the incident, an official from the department told GNS that they received several frantic calls from a group of farmers from Seelo and Nathipora villages regarding it.
“Soon after a team under the supervision of Chief Agricultural Officer Baramulla Mohammad Yousaf Shah visited the areas”, the official said, adding, “Upon inspection, it came to fore that the farmers had mistaken dragonflies for locusts.”
The farmers, as per the official, were informed that the insect (dragonfly) is considered as farmer-friendly and there is nothing to worry about.
The visiting team, as per the official, assured the residents that the department concerned was maintaining a complete vigil over the situation.
“We assured the panicked farmers of our continuous monitoring of the situation,” the official said, adding “If at all any locust attack type situation arises, we are ready to tackle the same.”
Meanwhile, locals of the area hailed the timely action of the concerned department.
Pertinent to mention here, that the many states in India are witnessing ‘locust attack’ in almost three decades with the ‘swarms’ penetrating deep into these states, wreaking havoc to the standing crops. (GNS)
