OKARA: Big swarms of locusts are seen flying over the city and its surrounding Chaks 1/4L, 2/4L, 3/4L, 33/2/R, 32/2R, 33/2/R besides around the area of Pipli Pehar.

The tehsil is facing locust swarms for the last three days and the farmers are seen beating drums to avoid the attack while agricultural officials in Okara and Dipalpur are spraying insecticides wherever they receive complaints from the farmers.

On Tuesday, a department team, led by Assistant Director Chaudhry Sarwar, rushed to the nursery side of the Pipli Pehar forest, comprising 10 acres area, and village Dholanwal, Chak 7/D and sprayed on the crops with insecticide.

Deputy Director Agriculture-Extension Chaudhry Shahbaz Akhtar said he visited 10 sites in different villages of Okara and Dipalpur and supervised spray. He said in all the three tehsils of the district, various teams, equipped with insecticide and spray machines, are alert to respond to any locust attack. However, Renal Khurd tehsil is still safe from the locusts as per report of the surveillance teams visiting the area.

BOOKED: Six people were booked for torturing and injuring a woman and her two daughters over a petty issue at Chak 29-30/2-L.

As per the FIR, lodged by Niaz Bibi, there was an exchange of harsh words between her and the suspects in the fields. A day later, suspects Ghulam, Basra, Zawar and Naveed and two unidentified men, armed with weapons and rods, entered the house of her daughter, Ayesha Shaheen, and started thrashing her. Ayesha raised a hue and cry and Niaz Bibi along with her other daughter, Fakhra, rushed to save her but the suspects thrashed them too, resulting in injuries. They also tore off their clothes.

The suspects left the house on the intervention of village men. Medical certificates were issued by the local doctor. On the complaint of Niaz Bibi, a case was registered against all the suspects with the Saddar police station.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2020