TOBA TEK SINGH: Farmers of seven villages of the Chuttiana area blocked traffic on Wednesday at Shahbaz Chowk and by locking the railway level crossing in protest at non-supply of irrigation water to their villages.

Their leader Irfan Jat told reporters that minor channels of the Jhang branch canal were closed and as a result, their crops had been destroyed.

As subsoil water was brackish, the scarcity of drinking water was also being faced in Chak numbers 405-JB, 406-JB, 407-JB, 408-JB, 409-JB, 410-JB and 411-JB.

Later, talks were held between a delegation of protesters and Deputy Commissioner Zahid Suhail who said that irrigation department officials would be apprised of the canal closure, over which the protesters ended their protest.

FLOUR BAGS: An attempt to smuggle 500 flour bags (each of 20kg) from Samundri to Peshawar in the shape of wanda (cattle feed) was foiled by the Peshawar police on Wednesday at the motorway M-I check post.

According to an FIR registered under sections 420 of the Pakistan Penal Code and 3/6 of the Punjab Food Stuffs Control Act, 1958, by the Samundri city police against Kamal Flour Mill employees Ashfaq Ahmad and Muhammad Imran.

Assistant Food Controller Muhammad Zahid claimed that the mill was supplied subsidised wheat, but instead it attempted to smuggle 500 bags with fraud to Peshawar.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2022