Minister confident of eliminating locust with coordinated steps

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Federal Minister for Food Security, Syed Fakhar Imam, has said that coordinated steps were being taken at federal and provincial levels to eradicate the locusts.

Addressing a media briefing in Islamabad on May 20, he remarked that the locust attack was a global threat and government was taking all out steps to eradicate it in coordination with all stakeholders. 

Mentioning that locust can be eliminated at deserts and at croplands differently, he lauded the role of provincial governments as well as district administration and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in stemming the tide of this pest. 

The NDMA Chairman, Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal, informed that the survey of 125,000 hectare areas of Balochistan, 87,000 hectares area of Punjab, 65,000 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 83,000 hectare area of Sindh had been completed during last 24 hours, adding that their organization had five helicopters for which kits have been procured from the US. 

He furthered shared that the NDMA has formed a committee to purchase six planes that will be used for spraying purposes on permanent basis.