CM Sindh warns of 'massive' locust attack in letter to PM Imran

KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday warned Prime Minister Imran Khan that a 'massive' locust attack could be expected after May 15 on the agricultural fields of the province. 

In a letter to the premier, the chief minister said that he feared crops could be damaged if the fields weren't sprayed in the coming days. 

Sindh government had requested the Centre for assistance in this regard six months ago, unfortunately despite assurances, no co-operation had been received, he said.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned that the intensity of the locusts' attack will be more severe than it was in the same month last year, the letter said, adding that the federal government should show seriousness over the matter. 

Earlier, PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto had also expressed disappointment over the federal government's response on the same issue in a hard-hitting press conference. 

“Locusts have reached the fields and we had asked the federal government to help us tackle them. But the Centre is not ready to help us with the coronavirus crisis and neither with the locusts,” he said.

Sindh braces for massive locust attack expected next month

Earlier, according to a report published in The News, farmlands in Sindh could once again come under a massive attack of locust swarms from Iran by May 15, 2020, which could prove even harmful for the crops in the province as compared to the locust attack of the last year.

The terrifying information for farmers of the province was shared by officials of the Plant Protection Department (PPD), who had attended a top-level meeting at Sindh Secretariat on the expected locust attack in the province.

The officials of the PPD told the meeting that up to 60 countries around the world had been affected by locust swarms.

The meeting was informed that some 30 spots had been identified in the province where camps would be established for tackling the issue of the impending locust attack. Some 57 teams comprising 180 personnel are being formed to tackle the locust emergency in the province.

Each team will comprise officials of the agriculture department and the PPD.