BAHAWALPUR: The wheat has been sown on 740,000 acres in Bahawalpur district, in addition to about 600,000 acres cultivated in Cholisan’s greenbelt areas.

This was stated by Agriculture Deputy Director Muhammad Shafiq, talking to Dawn on Monday.

He said as the wheat cultivation has been just completed, this year 40,000 more acres were brought under wheat cultivation, as compared to last year’s sowing figure.

He added that in Cholistan greenbelt areas, the wheat cultivation has also been doubled this year as compared to the last year’s cultivation on 300,000 acres.

Mr Shafiq said this year’s per acre yield target for wheat was about 45 maunds per acre in the district, while last year this was 35-40 maunds per acre.

He expressed the hope that if weather conditions remained favourable, the per acre yield target would be achieved.

He said the department would soon announce total wheat production target in the district. Regarding the fertilizers shortage being faced by the farmers in the district, he said the department’s officials are monitoring the situation and keeping an eye on the hoarders and profiteers, against whom a number of cases have been got registered with police, while the hoarded consignments have also been seized.

However, he added that this was a demand and supply issue as the fertilizers companies were unable to meet the growing demand of the farmers.

ARRESTED: The Kahror Pacca city police in Lodhran district claimed to have arrested an alleged rapist of a four-year-old girl, who had been on the run for a month.

According to Lodhran police, the suspect lured the minor girl to his house when she was playing with other children in front of her house at Basti Mauliwali on Nov 27, and raped her.

The police, on the complaint of the child’s father registered a case under section 376 of the PPC against the fleeing suspect.

The police, on a tip-off conducted a raid in the suburbs of Kahorepucca and arrested the suspect.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2023