OUR CORRESPONDENT
RAJANPUR District administration in collaboration with agriculture department Sunday conducted spray by helicopter and other heavy machinery to eliminate locust from various areas of tehsil Rojhan. According to Deputy Commissioner Zulifqar Ali, the spray was carried out at Arabi Tibba, Bara Patti Shahwali and its adjacent areas. Federal government’s department Development of Plant Protection also cooperated in the spray campaign. Helicopter and heavy machinery was utilized in the spray machine. About 2663 acres were sprayed. However, helicopter spray was carried out 1483 acres and recommended pesticides were used. Deputy Commissioner Zulifqar Ali informed that he himself monitored the activities. The district administration was committed to keep locust attack away from the field he said adding all possible resources were utilized in the campaign. China would help Pakistan establish and improve a comprehensive pest control system and effectively improve its ability to prevent and control biological disasters, said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson. The spray equipment to help Pakistan fight locust onslaught that China and Pakistan were all-weather friends and strategic partners. Considering urgency of locust control, China had transported a batch of locust control materials to Pakistan, including 50,000 litres of pesticides and 15 high-powered spray equipment of which the first consignment of supplies had arrived in Pakistan this morning. Pakistan was currently fighting a severe locust onslaught and in order to help the country respond to the disaster, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs sent a team of experts of disaster prevention and control to inspect the severely affected areas in Pakistan.
