After militants, it is the turn of locusts to infiltrate India from Pakistan.
Delhi has lodged a complaint against Pakistan with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), charging Islamabad with negligence in tackling the menace of the voracious insects, which have spread to some parts of western India.
India’s agriculture authorities told FAO in Rome that Pakistan “took no timely step to eradicate the locusts at infancy”, Daily Times quoted a senior Pakistani government official as saying.
“The presence of locusts has been reported in some parts of India, especially in areas bordering Pakistan,” India informed FAO in a letter. Locusts’ presence has also been reported in some small pockets of Bahawalpur district, but according to the official, “it poses no serious threat to the standing crops in Pakistan”.
He claimed that Pakistan has adequately responded to locust menace before and after the recent monsoon rains. The aerial wing of the plant protection department of the ministry of food, agriculture and livestock conducted spraying operations to prevent the possible spread of locusts.
The official said the presence of locusts had been reported only in some pockets of Bahawalpur. This is not a serious threat but if locust swarms spread from Africa, it would be a grave problem, he added.
Pakistan, India and Iran would be required to take joint steps to tackle the problem. But there was no imminent threat from Africa, he said.
According to the official, Pakistani agriculture experts had visited some countries in Africa to get first-hand information about locusts. All parts of the belt in Baluchistan, known as locust breeding grounds, were also inspected.
In 2004, vast swarms of locusts rampaging across Africa’s northern region spread into Chad, triggering fear that the insects could begin ravaging crops in other African countries and parts of Asia.
An FAO official in Rome had warned the swarms were about to cross the Red Sea into the Arabian peninsula and then into Iran, Pakistan and India. But the spreading did not occur that year. The official said there is no serious threat to crops in Pakistan and India. It becomes serious when there is a danger of spreading of swarms from Africa, he added.
He said all safeguards were in place and all steps would be taken to contain any locust attack in any part of the country.
The official said the plant protection department was well prepared to face any locust attack and the agriculture ministry’s aerial wing, with two planes, had been directed to be ready for spray operations, if the situation spins out of control.
Courtesy: TT
No comments:
Post a Comment