ISLAMABAD: The locust plague has badly affected 53 districts across the country posing serious threat to standing crops in four provinces.

The farmers of the provinces especially of Balochistan have urged the federal government to take necessary steps on an urgent basis to deal with the locusts; otherwise it will have drastic implications on fruit, vegetables and other crops of the province.

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Tuesday continued the spray and survey of various areas of country aiming to purge from locust plague.

According to a NDMA spokesman, the authority is engaged in aerial and ground spray of various districts affected by the locust invasion across the country.

The NDMA official added that the authority was making all possible efforts to eradicate locust for which spray has been imported from China and being supplied to the affected areas.

Sharing the details of the spray, he said the spraying of 5,100 hectare areas of Balochistan, 1,900 of Punjab, 700 of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and 531 hectare of Sindh have been completed in the last 24 hours. The NDMA has also completed the survey of 125,000 hectare area of Balochistan, 87,000 hectares of Punjab, 65,000 of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and 83,000 hectares of Sindh in the last 24 hours. As many as 54 districts of the country were hit by locust attack, he said adding that 28 districts of Balochistan, 10 of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 11 of Punjab, and five districts of Sindh were hit by the locust attacks. The NDMA spokesperson said the grasshoppers had attacked 27 districts in Balochistan, nine in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 13 in Punjab, and two districts in Sindh. The spokesman further said that another consignment of medical equipment to be supplied to the hospitals and healthcare workers treating the coronavirus patients on Tuesday reached Pakistan.

According to NDMA spokesperson, the PAF aircraft brought 16 tons of medical equipment including 20 bio-safety cabinet.

The medical equipment also included 50 ventilators, 300,000 testing kits, 65,000 N-95 masks, and 10,000 surgical gowns.—ABDUL RASHEED AZAD