MARDAN: Kisan Board Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has said farmers have been facing severe difficulties owing to shortage of urea compost in the market.

Kisan Board provincial president Rizwanullah Khan alleged an artificial shortage of fertiliser was created by mafia and some officials. “The growers have been forced to get a 50-kilogram bag of urea compost at Rs2,600 to Rs3,000 in the black against the officially notified rate of Rs1,768,” he said.

He along with Kisan Board general secretary Abdus Samad Safi and other members including Advocate Qamar Zaman Khan, Farhad Ali Khan, Ibrar Khan and Iftikhar Khan was addressing a meeting here the other day.

He said that traders of fertilisers were earning illegal profit through artificial shortage of the compost. He said that farmers were irrigating their wheat crops and urea compost was necessary on such occasions.

Rizwanullah said that agriculture was affected and farmers were financially overburdened by the government after imposition of 17 per cent tax on them. He said that the growers could not afford to run tubewell through diesel or electricity.

He said that farmers would take to streets and stage a sit-in outside Parliament House if government did not withdraw the new tax and failed to provide fertiliser to them at official rate.

ADVISER: Adviser to Chief Minister Barrister Saif said here on Thursday said that government was taking steps to digitise all press clubs in the province to meet the emerging challenges.

He was talking to journalists during his visit to Mardan Press Club to congratulate its newly-elected cabinet. He was welcomed by MPC president Musarat Khan Aasi, general secretary Imran Younas and other members.

Mr Saif said that government devised policy for digitisation and social media. He said that government was going to implement the policy. He said that government was taking measures for the welfare of journalists. He said that libraries would be set up at press clubs in the province.

He said that government would start professional and research programmes for young journalists to enable them to cope with the new challenges.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2022