Locust invasion threatens entire country, Punjab tells apex court

LAHORE: The government of Punjab province told the Supreme Court (SC) that the entire country was under a serious threat of locust invasion if the menace was not contained in the breeding regions.

An area of 300,000 square kilometres, roughly 37 per cent of the country’s total area, is vulnerable to the desert locust. Sixty per cent of the land is in Balochistan, 25 per cent in Sindh and 15 per cent in Punjab’s Cholistan region, reports Dawn news.

Balochistan falls within an area known as a spring breeding zone while Punjab and Sindh are in the summer breeding zone, according to a report placed by the Punjab government before the Supreme Court.

The report was filed as part of a reply to a query on May 19 by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed about the food security situation in view of the locust invasion. The chief justice was hearing a case on steps taken by the government to tackle the coronavirus crisis. The hearing will resume on Monday.

Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan had expressed fears that Pakistan was afflicted not only with a medical emergency of gigantic proportions but also an imminent locust threat. This posed a danger to food security.

The AG stated that a huge swarm of locusts was heading from Africa towards Pakistan.

Now a report submitted by Punjab’s Additional Advocate General Chaudhry Faisal Hussain explained that three districts Bhakkar, D.G. Khan and Mianwali were under the locust threat.

Punjab highlighted the need for deployment of maximum resources in the summer breeding areas of the country.

It said the menace had hitherto been confined to Cholistan, but now the central and northern regions were in the crosshairs as well due to climate change and massive egg-laying.

The recent locust wave must have affected forest plants like Shareen, Kikkar, Bir as well as fodder, newly germinated cotton, corn leaves and citrus, the report feared.

During the damage survey, it added, 15 varieties of crops infested with desert locust were observed. The damaged crops, spread over 715 acres, included cotton, sesame and Moong.