After 'Chasing Away' Corona, Dhols and Thali-Beating to Drive out Locusts in Jharkhand

New Delhi: Close on the heels of beating thalis (plates) to chase away ‘Corona’ comes an official word of advice from the Jharkhand government to its farmers to do the same – alongside beating dhols (double-sided drums) and nagaras – to ward off locusts from their fields.

“As the time is short, we have advised our agriculture officers to team up with the forest authorities and district administration and encourage people to beat dhols and nagaras as well as thalis to drive away locusts from damaging vegetation and crops,” state agriculture director Chhavi Ranjan reportedly said.

The Telegraph, in a news report on June 3, said, “Traditional musical instruments like dhols and nagaras (drums) have suddenly shot into prominence in Jharkhand’s fight against the possible invasion by desert locusts.”

Similar directions were given to farmers by the Uttar Pradesh government to fight locust attack. A report in NDTV said that loud music was being played in the fields of Jhansi to chase away the insects.

In  March this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked the public to clap or beat thalis to appreciate the work of those fighting the COVID-19 pandemic on the frontlines. Taking a cue from the prime minister’s call, some took to beating thalis to chase away the virus, and shouted, “Go Corona go”. These video clips, which went viral on social media, evoked laughter as well as criticism towards the non-scientific approach to deal with the pandemic.

Also read: Climate Change Brings the Worst Locust Attack in Decades to India

The Jharkhand government, with the fear of locusts swarming into its agricultural fields from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, formed a control and monitoring committee comprising of senior officials from the agriculture, forest and services department this on June 2 in the state capital Ranchi, whereby a decision was taken to put the farmers, particularly in the border areas, on alert. Crops in the neighbouring states have been adversely affected by the locust attack.

The news report quoting a “source who attended the meeting” said that the advisory to the farmers “was framed in consultation with the Central Integrated Pest Management Centre, Jharkhand chapter, and the Jodhpur-based Locust Warning Organisation”.

“Based on inputs from the two organisations, we have formulated a strategy whereby the locusts, who usually rest at night, will be eliminated by spraying pesticides from fire tenders and extinguishers. During the day, they will be disturbed by beating traditional musical instruments as it is very difficult to kill the flying locusts by spraying pesticides,” Shiva Mahalingam, the deputy director, plant protection (agriculture) said.

Interestingly, the state government has activated the panchayats to ready the villagers for the drum beating exercise. Those who don’t have it “have been asked to hire DJ sets”.

Like in several states, the state government also uses firecrackers to drive away wild elephants from standing crops.  The state felt that using firecrackers would “deplete their resources.”

“We would use them (firecrackers) only if there is an extreme exigency,” Ranjan said.