Punjab agriculture department to keep check on pink locust

CHANDIGARH: Punjab agriculture minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Monday directed all officers of his department to proactively deal with any possible infestation of pink locust in the cotton crop. He asked all officers to visit the cotton-growing belt of Malwa from Tuesday.

The statement came after a meetin of the agriculture department at Punjab Mandi Board Bhawan. Dhaliwal said 37 teams of the agriculture department would inspect and report the condition of crops in six districts. He said sale of fake pesticides, fertilizers and seeds will be checked. tnn