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Farmers, Officials Rush to Stop Breeding Before Monsoon as Locusts Reach MP, Maharashtra

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The swarms have been linked to the locust outbreak in east Africa, especially in the Horn of Africa region. (Representative image/AP)

A swarm 1 square kilometre in size contains around 40 million locusts, which eat the same amount of food in one day as about 35,000 people.

  • News18.com
  • Last Updated: May 26, 2021, 12:27 PM IST
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New Delhi: The early arrival of rapacious crop-eating desert locust swarms in India this year has officials and farmers across states on their toes. After arriving in Rajasthan, the swarms crossed into Madhya Pradesh, reaching as far as Panna in Bundelkhand region, and now there are reports that the swarms have reached Maharashtra.

Officials from the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage under the agriculture ministry told News18.com that 43,000 hectares have been brought back in control across Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. State agencies, farmers and central teams have been spraying Malathion-96 organophosphate insecticide on the swarms at night during control operations.

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“Rajasthan is the most affected so far, followed by Madhya Pradesh. We have managed to control the swarms in at least 43,000 hectares in these two states and our teams are camping on sites. Currently, the swarms appear rosy pink which means they are fledgling,” said KL Gurjar, deputy director, Locust Warning Organization and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage.

“But if they are able to survive on crops and plants till monsoon, there might be more trouble as they will be able to lay eggs. Efforts are on to control the swarm before monsoon arrives in these parts. Their movement is being aided by north-westerly winds and they can fly above 200 km per day,” Gurjar added.

Locust swarms can vary from less than one square kilometre to several hundred square kilometres. There can be at least 40 million and sometimes as many as 80 million locust adults in each square kilometre of swarm, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

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A desert locust adult can consume roughly its own weight in fresh food per day, that is about two grams every day. A swarm 1 square kilometre in size contains around 40 million locusts, which eat the same amount of food in one day as about 35,000 people. This is based on a person eating an average of 2.3 kg of food per day, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Farmers and government officials have been spraying insecticides using tractors, drones and fire-mounted trucks. The control operations have to be planned carefully as swarms can get disturbed by noise.

Behind the Large Swarms, Cyclones and Climate Change

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The swarms seen right now and early this year in January have been linked to the locust outbreak in east Africa, especially in the Horn of Africa region.

The Horn of Africa region, comprising countries like Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, was hit by eight cyclones in 2019, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and also saw widespread rainfall between October and November.

Scientists have said that these conditions proved to be ideal for breeding of locusts. Green vegetation and moisty sandy soils are favoured for breeding by locusts, the WMO said this February.

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The high rainfall and cyclone systems have been spurred by a positive Indian Ocean Dipole, an ocean circulation pattern. The Indian Ocean Dipole is the difference between sea surface temperatures in the western and eastern equatorial Indian Ocean. A positive IOD usually brings good rainfall to India’s west coast and to East Africa.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said in its May 21 situation update that new swarms from current breeding will form from mid-June onwards, coinciding with the start of the harvest. Thereafter, there is a risk that swarms will migrate to the summer breeding areas along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border as well as to Sudan and perhaps West Africa.






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(Note: This is a Article Automatically Generated Through Syndication, Here is The Original Source

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Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Election Phase 2 : Key seats, candidates in the fray

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Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Election Phase 2 : Key seats, candidates in the fray

The massive electoral exercise of the Lok Sabha Elections for 2024 is in full swing and the second phase of the election has commenced. In the second phase the fate of the candidates of 89 constituencies spread across 13 states will be decided by the voters. Uttar Pradesh is the most important state with more than 80 Lok Sabha seats. In the second phase of the election voters will vote for eight Lok Sabha seats.

Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha seats which will go for the polls include Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Amroha, Meerut, Aligarh,  Bulandshahar, Mathura, and Baghpat. Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, and Gautam Buddh Nagar will see a triangular contest between NDA bloc, the Opposition INDIA alliance, and the Bahujan Samaj Party. Mathura and Ghaziabad will see a straight contest between BJP and Congress. In Aligarh and Bulandshahr the BJP will lock horns with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party.

The Details are as follows-

  • Amroh -Kanwar Singh Tanwar(BJP) ,Danish Ali (Congress).Mujahid Hussain(BSP)
  • Meerut   – Arun Govil (BJP),Sunita Verma Pradhan (Samajwadi Party),Mujahid Hussain(BSP)
  • Mathura-Hema Malini (BJP),Mukesh Dhangar (Congress)         —
  • Baghpat-Rajkumar Sangwan (RLD),Amarpal Sharma (Samajwadi Party),Praveen Bansal(BSP)
  • Aligarh-Satish Kumar Gautam (BJP),Bijendra Singh (Samajwadi Party) —
  • Ghaziabad-Atul Garg (BJP) ,Dolly Sharma (Congress)           —
  • Budh Nagar-Dr Mahesh Sharma (BJP),Mahendra Nagar (Samajwadi Party),R.S.Solanki(BSP)
  • Bulandshahar-Bhola Singh (BJP),Shivram Valmiki (Samajwadi Party)     —

Many prominent personalities will find their fate locked in the EVM machines and this includes Hema Malini who will be eying for her third win from Mathura. She is pitted against Mukesh Dhangar from the Congress party.

Another star Arun Govil is standing from the BJP from Meerut and he is pitted against Sunita Verma from the SP and Devvrat Tyagi from the BSP. Arun Govil had played the character of Lord Rama in the Ranananda Sagar 1987 serial Ramayan

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MP Kunwar Danish Ali has changed party and is now standing as a Congress candidate Amroha, a constituency historically without a strong allegiance to any particular party. He stood and won as a BSP candidate in 2019. He will be pitted against Kanwar Singh Tanwar of the BJP and Mujahid Hussain of the BSP.

As per reports in the first four hours a voter turnout of 24.31 per cent was recorded in the eight parliamentary constituencies of Uttar Pradesh in phase two of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday. The polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

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Video of Isha Arora, Saharanpur Polling Agent Takes the Internet By Storm 

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Video of Isha Arora, Saharanpur Polling Agent taking the internet by storm 

A video is currently going viral on the internet, showing Saharanpur polling agent Isha Arora doing the rounds in the Gangoh assembly constituency during the Saharanpur Lok Sabha elections. Since then, netizens have been going gaga over her charm and personality.

Meanwhile, many are curious to know more about her. A wide range of memes and reels are also being shared on Twitter and Instagram.

According to social media, Isha Arora is a State Bank of India (SBI) employee, currently employed on polling duty for the Saharanpur Lok Sabha Election 2024 in Madari village of the Gangoh assembly constituency.

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Video of Isha Arora dominates the internet

There she serves as the first polling officer at Garhi village’s polling booth. It got to a point that national news agencies were trying to get her on camera.

Many of Isha Arora’s photos and videos are circulating on various social media platforms, generating millions of clicks and views. While talking to ANI, she stated:

“I think that if you get any duty, you should be punctual and that’s the reason I have assumed my duty on time. Every man and woman should be punctual to let the functioning be smooth.” 

On being asked about her election duties, she said:

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“I’ll say that people should be punctual and they are, otherwise conducting such big elections wouldn’t have been possible. I didn’t get time to watch it (comments) in the video. It’s election time and it was my duty to come on time hence I was busy. It goes viral due to my punctuality and devotion…” 

Back in 2019, during the Lok Sabha elections, a clerk from the Public Works Department in Lucknow, Reena Dwivedi, gained national media attention because of her beauty. Her pictures in a yellow saree on duty went viral on various social media platforms.

Also Read: Hareem Shah Addresses Trolls After Her MMS Video Leak

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Raj Kundra ED Case Explained: Properties Worth Rs 98 Cr Seized 

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Raj Kundra ED Case Explained: Properties Worth Rs 98 Cr Seized 

Raj Kundra, the famous businessman and husband of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, has had properties worth Rs. 98 crore seized by the Enforcement Directorate.

The ED has also seized Shilpa Shetty’s Juhu flat. The Mumbai Zonal Office has seized movable and immovable properties worth Rs. 97.79 crore belonging to Raj Kundra (also known as Ripu Sudan Kundra) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as reported by The Economic Times.

The seized properties include equity shares in Raj Kundra’s name, a residential bungalow situated in Pune, and a flat in Juhu under Shilpa Shetty’s name.

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The investigation was initiated by the ED based on multiple FIRs registered by the Delhi Police and Maharashtra Police.

The FIRs were registered against several MLM agents: Mahender Bhardwaj, Simpy Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, the late Amit Bhardwaj, and M/s Variable Tech Pte Ltd.

According to News18, allegations prevail that they collected funds worth Rs. 6,600 crore in 2017 in the form of Bitcoins. Moreover, they falsely promised a 10 percent return per month in the form of Bitcoins.

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Investors were led to believe they would get higher returns on crypto assets, and the Bitcoins were purportedly taken to be used for Bitcoin mining in Ukraine. However, the promoters cheated the investors.

The promoters concealed the “ill-gotten Bitcoins in obscure online wallets.”

Investigation on Raj Kundra and Other Suspects 

The ED investigation into Raj Kundra revealed that he received 285 Bitcoins from Amit Bhardwaj, the mastermind.

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As the deal didn’t materialize, Raj Kundra still possesses 285 Bitcoins, worth Rs. 150 crore at present value, as per Mint.

In this case, Nikhil Mahajan was apprehended on January 1, 2023, Nitin Gaur on December 29, 2023, and Simpy Bhardwaj on December 17, 2023. Currently, all three of them are in judicial custody. 

However, the masterminds, Mahendra Bhardwaj and Ajay Bhardwaj, are yet to be caught. 

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Further investigation in the case is under progress.

Also Read: Petition Against Cody Roberts Demands Felony Charges For Killing Wolf

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