Pakistan takes steps to control locust attack

The Provincial Secretary Agriculture, Wasif Khursheed, on Saturday said that teams have been formed to control the latest locust threat which has put thousands of acres of cotton crop in the line of devastation in Pakistan.

The teams have been formed to monitor the movement of locusts in Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan among other divisions, according to The Express Tribune.

Khursheed has held meetings with officials from Bahawalpur, including the Commissioner Bahawalpur division, Nayyar Iqbal. He has also visited croplands to inspect arrangements which have been put in place to combat the threat.

Aeroplanes of the Federal Plant Protection Department will also be provided to the Agriculture Department in a bid to control locust movement, the Provincial Secretary added.

Cotton runs Pakistan's textile industry, generating scores of jobs. The country cannot afford to lose its cotton, especially at a time when it has secured a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. The government has deployed pesticide-mounted vehicles and aircraft to control the situation.

Locusts first emerged from Sudan and Eritrea in January this year. By February, they had hit Saudi Arabia and Iran before heading to Pakistan's Balochistan in March. The last major locust attack in Pakistan happened back in 1993 and 1997.