Termite Eradication program launched at Khalsa College to save Heritage buildings, Trees

Amritsar, July 1 (Punjab Post Bureau) – With a view to fight the rising menace of termites on the vast Khalsa College campus, a special program to eradicate the `troubling ants’ has been launched. The experts from agriculture department, farmers training centre of the college have identified more than 150 `ant houses’ which are being dismantled permanently by using the insecticides, informed Principal Dr.Mehal Singh, here today.

The termites are turning so lethal that they have virtually put the heritage buildings on the 300 acres campus under threat. The old trees and even the new vegetation is also under threat as the campus house eight educational institutions including iconic 1892 Khalsa College’s historic building.

            The large scale presence of the termite (white ants) on the campus has threatened even the new plantation that is taking place. “The furniture and wooden structure has been damaged to the large scale and the piecemeal solutions were being carried but the menace is rising beyond control now, requiring solutions on war-footing’’, said Dr.Mehal Singh.

            This was under these circumstances that a high level meeting was called by Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) honourary secretary Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina on the issue and teams were formed to `identify’ and `dismantle’ ant houses, said he. Prof. Kanwaljit Singh from Agriculture department who was part of the team said that there is special method to destroy the ants’ houses. “Actually termite cannot be controlled unless ant house, where queen ant produce eggs in abundance is destroyed’’, said he.

KCGC farms secretary Rajbir Singh said that though the termites are friendly to the farmers as they make underground tunnels and makes the soil fertile, they are deadly to the wooden furniture and vegetation in the vicinity. “The method adopted to destroy the ants’ house is simple and effective. The ant house is first uncovered by removing earth from upper portion. Then the inside tunnel’s opening is exposed. The two tablets of Sulphas are put inside and the opening is covered immediately with the earth’’, said he adding that spray of the Chlorpyrifos is carried on the outside.