Locusts were spotted in the paddy fields of more than 125 households of Suangdoh village, Churachandpur district in Manipur triggering fear among farmers as the destructive swarms may damage the entire crop leading to shortage of rice this season.

Sources from Suangdoh village said that the entire households of Suangdoh sub-division, which is 64 km from Churachandpur town, are totally dependent on rice cultivation. The farmers said that though some of the crops have already been damaged, they have applied pesticides to protect the remaining crops until an action is taken by the Agriculture department.

When the Suangdoh Village Authority members were contacted, they informed that experts have been consulted on Thursday who will bring an effective sprayer by Friday morning.

According to sources, there was no other village reporting a similar problem of locust attack till the filing of this report.

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