Sindh braces for massive locust attack expected next month

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 on Saturday attended a top-level meeting at Sindh Secretariat on the expected locust attack in the province.

Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah chaired the meeting.

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.

A method of aerial sprays will made use of to consume 100,000 litres of pesticide against locusts while 25,000 litres of pesticide will be used against locust swarms by using the boom spray method.

The chief secretary expressed the resolve to utilise all the available resources of the Sindh government to get rid of the issue of locust attacks against the farmlands of the province. He said that the government had commenced the process of pesticides for its use against locusts through aerial and other mechanical spray methods.

He said that the locust advance constituted another emergency situation for the province much like the COVID-19 crisis, and for this reason the issue was part of the agenda of the next meeting of the Sindh cabinet.

He said that the latest technology and assistance of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) would be utilised for gathering data related to hotspots among agricultural land in the province with regard to locust swarms.

The agriculture secretary informed the meeting that his department required more money and specialised vehicles for doing sprays against locust swarms.

The chief secretary directed the agriculture secretary to present a demand of his department to this effect before the next session of the Sindh cabinet.

The meeting decided to conduct training of 250 staffers of the agriculture department from the PPD for, making them ready to conduct surveys and fumigation campaigns against the locust attack on farmlands.

The meeting, besides the agriculture secretary, was attended by the director general agriculture, the director of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, the director of the PPD, officials of the Pakistan Army, and other relevant officials.

E-commerce

Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah said that the Sindh government was in the process of preparing the standard operating procedures for the E-Commerce being a big sector related to business and industry for its operations during the ongoing COVID-19 emergency.

The CS stated this as he met a delegation of the Karachi Industries’ Forum. He said that action would be taken against the industries, which had not been obeying the SOPs proposed by the government for their operations during the lockdown period.

The delegation demanded that the Sindh government should allow the resuming of the supply chain of the industries, which had been granted permission to operate during the lockdown.

The CS said that the demand regarding the resumption of the supply chain of the industries would be presented before the provincial Task Force on COVID-19 whose meetings were chaired by chief minister.

He informed the meeting that several superstores in Karachi had been sealed by the district administration concerned as they had failed to observe the SOPs to ensure social distancing among their shoppers.

The provincial labour and industries departments had been tasked with the job of verifying the status of industrial units, which applied for the resumption of their operations during the COVID-19 lockdown, and the home department later on issued a notification for allowing these industries to resumes operations.

The meeting was attended by the home secretary, the Karachi Commissioner, the secretary for industries and officials of the Sindh Labour Department.