ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Monday said that locusts exist in 40 districts of the country, including 29 districts in Balochistan, eight in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and three in Sindh.
A spokesperson of NDMA said that survey and spray operations to control locust are underway across the country. He said that survey of 312,000 hectares of area was carried out while 6,800 hectares were sprayed across the country during the last twenty four hours.
He said 5,300 hectares in Balochistan, 1,000 hectares in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 800 hectares in Sindh were sprayed during the last 24 hours.
The spokesperson said that over 623,000 hectares of area has so far been sprayed across the country. He said that state-of-the-art equipment has been imported from China to control the pest, which also includes drones for spraying. He said micron sprayers from a UK-based firm will arrive soon which will help clear large swathes of territory from the pest.
He said that ministries of information and national food security as well as Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) have launched awareness campaign to sensitize the farmers about the issue. He said provincial governments are also working round the clock to control the menace.
