Locust attack destroys crops on large scale in Pakpattan

PAKPATTAN: Swarms of locusts on Saturday attacked crops in Noorpur, Haripur and Malka Hans areas of Pakpattan and destroyed crops on a large scale, sources said.

A huge number of locusts can be seen on the roads of Noorpur, Malka Hans, houses, trees and fruit farms in various parts of the area and the outskirts.

The district administration has issued the high alert and asked farmers to beat drums and explode fireworks to minimize the attack of the locusts.

The officials stated that farmers of the affected areas are being informed about precautionary measures to ward off the locusts and surveillance teams are busy handling the situation in different areas.

Sources informed that the area residents are trying to get rid of the locusts on their own in order to save their crops from being damaged. The Swarms of locusts bring an appetite with them by eating crops and all foliage where they find at any place.

Earlier, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan had said the Pakistan government has declared a national emergency to battle locust swarms.

Read more: Swarms of locusts invade crops in Pakpattan

On a social media website, she said that the decision was taken in a meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The agriculture experts were of the opinion that swarms of locusts after a span of almost 57 years appeared in the breeding season of August.