SWABI: Growers have demanded of the Pakistan Tobacco Board to increase the compensation amount significantly in case a curing furnace is gutted to help them rebuild the one and avoid unnecessary financial losses.

Talking to Dawn here on Monday, Liaqat Yousafzai, central general secretary of Kashtkar Coordination Council, said that PTB paid from Rs25,000 to Rs30,000 for a single burnt furnace, which was very nominal as a furnace required about Rs1 million to be built.

It is pertinent to mention here that a total of 60 Virginia tobacco curing furnaces have caught fire from June till date, inflicting about Rs144 million financial loss on growers, farmers and Rescue 1122 officials claimed.

The growers said the common cause of fires was falling of leaves on the central pipe of the furnace. They said once a furnace caught fire then controlling the blaze was almost impossible because it engulfed the structure within no time.

The growers said construction of a furnace cost Rs1 million.

Haq Nawaz, whose tobacco curing furnace was turned into ashes recently, said losing furnace during the critical period of crop curing was a huge loss to him. “Once you lose your furnace you cannot build another immediately, so your harvested crop gets spoiled.

The only option is to beg another farmer to free his for you.”

VISIT: Swabi additional assistant commissioner-II Zeeshan Najeeb paid a surprise visit to a rural health centre and inspected the availability of medicines and facilities at the laboratory and the OPD there, according to a statement issued on Monday.

The visit was conducted as part of the provincial government’s agenda to provide adequate health facilities to the people at the grassroots level.

He also listened to the complaints of the patients and reported them to the district health officer for redressal.

Mr Najeeb said that the district administration was ensuring the provision of quality health facilities in government hospitals of Swabi.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2024

Opinion

GB’s lost hope

GB’s lost hope

Given the need for democratic and accountable governance in GB, the quest for a provisional province warrants immediate attention.

Editorial

Dangerous times
Updated 14 Feb, 2025

Dangerous times

Pakistan accounted for six journalist killings in 2024, of which three were deliberately murdered, according to the CPJ.
Difficult target
14 Feb, 2025

Difficult target

A ONE-two punch delivered by an unforeseen, sharp dip in inflation and an extremely slim base of taxpayers is...
Amazing show
14 Feb, 2025

Amazing show

PAKISTAN’S ability to turn it up at the flick of a switch remains uninhibited. The latest show came in...
Trump’s folly
Updated 13 Feb, 2025

Trump’s folly

This latest pronouncement only reinforces the fears of those who see the plan as a blueprint for ethnic cleansing.
Corruption ranking
13 Feb, 2025

Corruption ranking

IT comes as little surprise. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2024, unveiled on...
Support from remittances
13 Feb, 2025

Support from remittances

EVEN though workers’ remittances dipped, albeit negligibly, in January on a month-over-month basis, the earnings...