TOBA TEK SINGH: Two van passengers died and 11 others in the same van, along with four car riders, were injured in a van-car collision near Safraz Chowk at Kamalia on Toba-Chichawatni Road on Monday.

According to Rescue 1122 and the police, van driver Khalid Mahmood died, while a child identified as Abubakar, who was referred to Faisalabad Allied Hospital, succumbed to his injuries there. The other injured people were transported to the Kamalia THQ Hospital and the Toba Tek Singh DHQ Hospital.

The four car riders, who received minor injuries, fled the scene, leaving their car at the accident site. The injured include Asad Munir, Gulnaz Bibi, Azam, Tariq, Shabbir, Yasmin, Sunil Maseeh, Hammad, Shazia, Habib, and Kalshoom.

RALLY: Scores of power loom workers held a rally in the Factory Area of Gojra on Monday to demand an increase in their wages. They chanted slogans against the Labour Welfare Department officials for siding with power loom owners.

Power loom workers union president Abdul Latif told reporters that owners had accepted the demand for a wage increase in Faisalabad and Toba Tek Singh, but in Gojra, they had refused to accept their demand. They announced that if their demand was not met, they would be forced to start a sit-in outside the labor welfare department complex in Toba.

WHEAT SOWING: With certified seeds, timely sowing, weed control, efficient threshers, and other technologies, the total wheat production can be doubled within a couple of years.

University of Agriculture of Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan at the orientation of an eight-day wheat campaign being conducted by UAF in collaboration with the Punjab Agriculture Extension Department from Nov 7 to 14.

In this campaign, 330,000 students will visit farmers’ fields in various villages across six divisions of Punjab. Prof Khan said that the country faced the worst wheat crisis in 1966, but within two to three years, with the Mexi-Pak variety, it became self-sufficient.

He also noted that 15 per cent of wheat is lost due to outdated harvesters. If wheat production remains stagnant, the country could face a 10 million-ton wheat shortage in a decade. He said there is need to bring the latest agricultural technology to the doorstep of farmers and promote agriculture on a scientific basis for an agricultural revolution.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2023