Locusts on the move again

Desert areas of Ghotki district are being threatened by locusts


Express October 31, 2010

SUKKUR: The green pests are on the move again. Desert areas of Ghotki district are being threatened by locusts and according to officials in the agriculture department, this time their movement can be observed in the desert areas of Gopinwari, some 30 kilometres away from Sardargarh and in the desert area of Khenjo near Daharki.

EDO Agriculture Ghotki Riaz Ahmed Dayo told The Express Tribune that the locusts are scattered in small groups and are spread over 30 to 35 kilometres. On ground the battle is already under way and spray-mounted vehicles are busy disinfecting the air in affected areas.

Meanwhile, two planes are on standby at the Lahore airport in case aerial spraying is also required.

“We have also informed the quarters concerned in India about the large scale influx of locust across the border,” said Dayo.

He added that the insects cross over and then back again depending upon the direction of the wind.

On August 15, locusts had attacked the desert area of Khangarh and had continued to wreak havoc for about five days. He said that at that time the administration had sprayed the area with the help of ground vehicles and had managed to eliminate a majority of the pests. However, the surviving locusts had scattered into small groups and due to their fast breeding, the problem had emerged again.

“I visited the entire area between Gopinwari and Khenjo today,” Dayo said. He added that their teams were already in the affected areas and this time they were confident that the pests will be eliminated completely. “We don’t want to leave anything undone,” he said. A team of the World Wildlife Fund was also with them and they are just waiting for the locusts to get together in a large group before the elimination campaign can be effectively launched.

The earlier attack by locusts affected cotton fields from Ghotki to Khanpur Mehar. Analysts had expressed fears that the total cotton production of the country may fall even further with this attack.

The floods had damaged around 2 million bales already.  “About 50 per cent of the crop has been affected by the green locust attack on the cotton belt from Ghotki to Khanpur Mehr,” Shakil Ahmed, a cotton analyst, had informed.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2010.

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