SARGODHA: Citrus growers in Sargodha expressed their frustration during a meeting on Tuesday.

They said despite being the backbone of the country, farmers were facing immense difficulties due to poor government policies and indifference.

They said around 45 per cent of their orchards had been uprooted due to lack of assistance from the Department of Agriculture.

They also alleged that factory owners were blackmailing them by not paying the set rates and that many farmers had not received their payments from contractors.

Citrus growers’ leader Chaudhry Hamid Saleem appealed to the district administration to provide support to farmers, including fertilisers at controlled rates, to improve kinnow production. He warned if the situation persists, farmers may be forced to protest on the streets.

KILLED: A 23-year-old man was killed allegedly by his uncle and family members.

The police took the body into custody for postmortem.

Sikandar Hayat, along with his family, killed his nephew Tauqeer Abbas in the village of Kot Makram in Miani town of Sargodha.

RAPE: A 10-year-old girl was sexually assaulted allegedly by her neighbour who left her unconscious.

The police have registered a case.

ACCIDENT: In a collision between a bus and a trailer, the conductor was killed and seven people, including the driver, were seriously injured.

The Isa Khel-to-Lahore bus collided with the trawler near Chak 91 in which conductor Muhammad Irfan of Darya Khan died and Muhammad Arif Hussain, Akhtar Hussain, Zafarullah, Naeem Ahmad and Umar Hayat, all residents of Mianwali, Mohammad Sulaiman of Isa Khel and Faisal Tarseem Masih of Jauharabad were seriously injured.

They were shifted to DHQ Hospital. The police are investigating the incident.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2024