Another locust attack in few weeks, seven states likely to be affected:

Centre's Locust Warning Organization will press into service 25 drones and buy 60 more vehicle-mounted insecticide spraying machines to counter the attack of locust swarms within the near future, a politician said on Tuesday.

Authorities are worried that many locusts may enter India along side monsoon winds from the Arabian Sea to destroy kharif crops.

"The locust swarms may attack in late June and early July. there's every possibility that locust swarms will come towards India from African countries along side monsoon winds rising from the Arabian Sea ," K L Gurjar, Deputy Director of the Faridabad-based Locust Warning Organisation (LWO), told PTI.

He said the summer and rainy weather is favourable for locusts and that they move from one place to a different during this point , travelling 150 km during a day.

India faced a locust attack last month and therefore the swarms reached Jaipur for the primary time. Swarms of locusts travelled through several areas of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh amid their worst invasion in years.

The swarms entered Rajasthan in April from Pakistan then spread to areas across the western states, helped by strong winds.

Gurjar said the LWO is making full preparations at its level. For the primary time, a team of 25 drones is being prepared to fight the locust swarm, which can be ready during a day or two. it'll be used for spraying insecticides. aside from this, the organization will get 60 more vehicle-mounted sprayers by the top of this month.

State Agriculture Commissioner Dr Omprakash told PTI that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is predicting that grasshoppers will come so "we have made full preparations".

Around 800 tractor-mounted sprayers were already getting used , and now the district collectors are authorized to require into service more such vehicles as per the need .

He said there's no dearth of resources to counter attack locust swarms. The government has already given about Rs 6.5 crore to the districts. The department has asked for around Rs 4 crore additionally.

The government has decided to get 100 fire fighting vehicles from the Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF), which may even be used for locust control.

In a meeting with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot recently, State Agriculture Minister Lalchand Kataria said an outsized number of locust swarms could come to Rajasthan within the coming days. He said swarms are breeding in African countries.

A large number of those swarms are expected to succeed in Rajasthan. In such a situation, a district-wise strategy will need to be made to affect them, Kataria said.