CHISHTIAN: Swarms of locusts on Monday invaded large swathes of adjoining areas of Chishtian, causing huge loss to the standing crops. Different crops standing on hundreds of acre were destroyed by the swarms of grasshoppers in several villages.The farmers have blamed the Agriculture Department for not taking concrete steps to save their crops from the attack of locusts. The farmers are trying to save their crops on their own. The crop eating insects bring hunger with them by thoroughly eating crops and all vegetation they find at any place. Last week, 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 combat locust swarms. In a tweet, she had said that the decision was taken in a meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The meeting also approved the National Action Plan to combat locusts, in addition, a high-level committee was constituted for taking steps against the critters at the federal level. She had further stated that the chairman of the committee would be Secretary National Food Security Division whereas Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) would be its focal person. –Agencies
