LAKKI MARWAT: Agricultural experts have called upon the farmers to grow mushrooms as the vegetable is of great nutritional value and a healthier food and can generate handsome income for growers.

They stated this while speaking at a workshop held at the model farm services centre in the district headquarters complex, Tajazai, on Friday.

The workshop was jointly organised by Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Pakistan Science Foundation and the district agriculture department. A large number of farmers participated. Speakers included NIFA senior scientist from Peshawar Daud Khan, scientific assistant Aurangzeb Khan and district director agriculture Hizbullah Khan.

“The local climate suites mushroom cultivation and farmers can grow the vegetable with low cost,” said Daud Khan. He said no open fields were required for cultivation of the vegetable and farmers can set up mushroom farms even in small spaces.

However, another speaker said the farmers lacked skills on mushroom production, and they also didn’t have any knowledge about the benefits of the crop. He said the mushrooms were rich in nutrients and were also used for curing diseases.

The agricultural experts said many self-grown species of the vegetable were poisonous, and asked the growers to get seed (spawn) from a certified laboratory.

PROTEST THREATENED: Local JUI-F office-bearers have threatened to launch agitation if Pesco failed to stop unscheduled power outages by Feb 28 in the Lakki city-II union council.

JUI-F central Shura member Maulana Ahmad Shah Qureshi and Haji Ameer Nawaz Khan Meenagul told a press conference on Friday that the residents of Lakki city-II were hit hard by the excessive power loadshedding for last several months. They alleged that around 18 hours of outages were carried out in the urban locality. The residents of urban locality are facing shortage of drinking water as tube-wells cannot run due to excessive outages and low voltage, they said.

The JUI-F leaders said the consumers were also sent inflated bills and charged illegal fines. They said local Pesco authorities were repeatedly requested to pay heed to the issue, but to no avail.

SECURITY MEETING: A meeting chaired by district police officer Syed Khalid Hamdani on Friday reviewed law and order situation, with focus on stepping up security of sensitive and important installations in the wake of recent terror acts in the country. The meeting issued a fresh SOP and advisory for policemen to ensure foolproof security of vulnerable installations.

Mr Hamdani directed the subordinate officials to implement security guidelines and instructions in true spirit so the nefarious designs of terrorists could be thwarted. He also directed SHOs to visit all important places, including educational institutions, to check security arrangements there.

The DPO asked the police officials to ensure installation of fully functional CCTV cameras in educational institutions and other important installations.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2017