SAHIWAL, June 18 Five per cent of the cotton sowing area (224,000 acres) in the district is under attack of white fly and CLCV (cotton leave curl virus), agriculture officials say.

The officials claim that there is so far low-intensity attack and the department, along with the private sector, has started an extensive campaign to counter virus attack.

Rao Ashfaq, assistant director plant protection, informed journalists that the CLCV and white fly attack appeared a month after cotton sowing.

He said department officials had found the virus attack in different localities and were making efforts to prevent losses to the farmers by creating awareness among them.

District Officer (Agriculture) Muhammad Farooq said the department had organised a meeting of 300 to 400 cotton growers to educate them on how to save the crop. He said the attack could be termed mild and there was no risk of any further damage.

“It is manageable if temperatures go down because of winds and rain,” he said.

IMPERSONATION Allama Iqbal Open University Regional Director Rasool Bakhsh on Friday caught an impersonator taking BA examination at the Government College, Sahiwal.

Reports said Muhammad Athar, a resident of 138/9-L, appeared for English paper in place of Ijaz Sarwar who was given roll number AB466129.

Mr Bakhsh handed over the impersonator to the police which instituted a case against him. The invigilator was suspended.

KILLED A retired police inspector was killed allegedly by two robbers on Thursday.Reports said two armed men entered Barkat Ali's house at Chak 89/6-R and strangled him. They fled with cash, gold ornaments and a cell phone.

The Farid Town police registered a case.

Leather Police seized hides worth Rs25 million in Chakwal on Friday stolen from a factory in Harrapa late on Wednesday, Sahiwal District Police Officer (DPO) Imtiaz Habib Gull said.

Ten gunmen broke into the Aziz Tanneries Factory on Harrapa Road late on Wednesday, held the staff hostage and stole Rs25 million hides in a truck and a car and fled.

Police alerted toll plazas and Motorway police officials. Motorway police spotted a truck laden with leather at Kallar Kahar-Balkasar motorway section.

Driver Rafiq, when quizzed by Motorway police about the leather, said he would provide them the detail before his exit at Rawalpindi intersection. The driver, however, drove out of Motorway at Balkasar intersection and changed the number plate.

Chakwal Sadar police seized the lorry and held two people on the lorry near Chakwal city while the third one fled who was later arrested after a brief crossfire.

The arrested people were identified Muhammad Ali, Tariq and Rafique.

The DPO said other gang members would also be arrested.