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New Delhi, May 29: Opining that there is no harm in importing ideas from abroad Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has suggested that India should take a cue from Pakistan and turn the “locust threat” into “chicken feed.

In an interview, Ashwani Mahajan, national co-convener of Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) said: “I saw an article which shows that Pakistan has turned the locust threat into an opportunity by converting it into chicken feed”

“If there is a good idea originating from anywhere, we should be open to exploring such ideas. We should adopt good ideas. There is no harm in that,” he added.

He also shared the article on Twitter and wrote: “Pakistan turns locust threat into chicken feed. Need to understand the idea and replicate it in India.”

The article stated “an innovative pilot project in Pakistan’s Okara district offers a sustainable solution in which farmers earn money by trapping locusts that are turned into high-protein chicken feed by animal feed mills”.

“It was the brainchild of Muhammad Khurshid, a civil servant in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, and Johar Ali, a bio-technologist from the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council,” according to the article.

Both Pakistan and India have been hit by locust attacks. These are desert locusts, which is one of the 12 species of short-horned grasshoppers. Swarms can comprise billions and travel up to 130 km in a day.

India has been battling the locust attacks with moderate success since December. However, the onset of monsoon could bring more trouble.

Bengaluru, May 25: The 36-hour marathon lockdown call given by Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, passed off peacefully with people opting to remain inside their houses and cooperate with the state government to fight against spread of deadly Covid-19.

Though the call was only for 24 hours from 7 am (Sunday) to 7 am (Monday) another 12 hours was added to it as the night curfew was already in force from 7 pm on Saturday and the next day (Sunday) it continued till Monday up to 7 am.

Autorickshaws and bus service were off the road giving a tough time to people arriving from neighbouring places reach home that too during the night. Adding to their woes was heavy rain that lashed the city for more than two hours on Sunday evening flooding the streets.

Mangaluru, May 22: An elderly cardiac patient from Dakshina Kannada, who was stranded in Saudi Arabia due to covid-19 lock-down, has finally reached his homeland thanks to the timely intervention by Humanity Forum Jubail and Indian Social Forum.

The elderly man hailing from Kadaba area of Dakshina Kannada was admitted to a hospital in Madinah. However, his condition continued to worsen due to lack of proper treatment. The efforts by his family members to bring him back home had not yielded results.

Meanwhile, one of the relatives of the patient, Ansari Suratkal, who happens to be a DKSC activist, brought the issue to the notice of the Karnataka unit of the Indian Social Forum in Dammam. ISF contacted Humanity Forum president Zakariya Jokatte, who helped the patient to speak directly union minister D V Sadananda Gowda in a video conference organised by coastaldigest.com.

Humanity Forum also persuaded the Indian Embassy to allow the stranded cardiac patient to fly back to India through Dammam-Bengaluru repatriation flight on May 20. 

However, it was not easy for the patient to travel from Madinah to Dammam International Airport due to lock-down and curfew. ISF not only obtained travel permission for him but also arranged vehicle. Jeddah and Riyadh units of ISF helped in obtaining permission letter in their respective places in spite of travel ban imposed by the police. Madinah unit of ISF arranged vehicle for transportation. Zakariya Jokatte bore the air ticket and other expenses of the patient.