October 06, 2007	Saturday	Ramazan 23, 1428

LARKANA, Oct 5: The second attack of ‘leaf folder’ disease on paddy crop in the rice producing belt, which stretched from Kashmore to Kandhkot, had completely destroyed a little less than half the total crop in the area, said Arif Mahessar, central president of Sindh Rice Millers and Traders Association (SBRMTA) on Friday.

Mr Mahessar put the damages at this stage of crop’s maturity at around 30 per cent and complained that the association had promptly written to the officers concerned of the federal and provincial agriculture ministries when the disease had first attacked the crop but they did not take their pleas seriously and did nothing to save the crop.

The disease had completely destroyed the crop on thousands of acres in the belt even before it developed grains. The departments concerned seldom came to the growers’ help who, in the absence expert advice, were using insecticides with no effect, he said.

Meanwhile, a large number of growers from union councils Kalar, Dost Ali and Jeean Abro demonstrated in Qambar town calling for urgent measures against the leaf folder’s attack.

Dilbar Chanio, Anwar Chandio and Faqeer Buledi who led the protest said that the second attack had caused widespread damages, insecticides had proved ineffective against the disease and the agriculture department had not extended them any assistance.

The protestors called for declaring the area under ‘leaf folder’ attack as ‘calamity-hit’ and providing them seeds from the produce of Rabi crop free of cost.