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FAISALABAD, March 20: Punjab Agriculture Minister Khurshid Zaman Qureshi has said the water shortage has put the entire agriculture infrastructure and crop pattern at stake.
He was speaking at the concluding session of the ninth International Congress of Soil Science on “Soil management under stress environment” held here at Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology under the aegis of Soil Science Society of Pakistan on Wednesday.
He said the storage capacity of Mangla and Tarbela reservoirs were declining at an alarming rate while the drought had further aggravated the situation. If new reservoirs were not built, the agrarian economy would suffer unimaginable harm.
Mr Qureshi claimed that due to water shortage, the GDP rate was declining to an alarming extent and had come down from 6 per cent to 3 per cent.
He stressed research scientists that they should develop crop varieties which consume less water. They should also advise them how the water could be conserved in water scarce areas and how the available water could be utilized efficiently for maximum production.
SSSP chief Dr Mohsin Iqbal also spoke on the occasion.
Over 250 soil scientists attended the congress in which over two dozen experts read papers in 17 technical sessions in three days.
PPP DEMAND: The Pakistan People’s Party has demanded the government to lift ban from political activities and announce the schedule for general elections.
Speaking at a meeting here on Wednesday, Punjab PPP secretary-general Rana Aftab said some like-minded parties were being allowed to hold conventions and rallies, while leaders and workers of other parties were being harassed.
He alleged the government machinery was being misused for pressurising members of the local government to join a government-backed party.
He claimed that party chairperson Benazir Bhutto would reach Pakistan before elections and would contest from her native town. He said there was no chance of any ‘deal’ with the government because the PPP had deep roots among the masses and would come into power through its own vote bank.
About distribution of party tickets, Rana Aftab said lists of ticket-seekers had already been sent to Ms Bhutto for approval. Final lists would be made public after the announcement of delimitation of constituencies and other election reforms by the government, he said.
DEFAULTER HELD: A defaulter of over Rs12 million was arrested by the bailiff of a local banking court from his house at Ayub Colony here on Wednesday.
Muhammad Anwar, owner of the BC Tower, had obtained Rs12.4 million loan from a local MCB’s branch. The bank served him several notices, but to no avail. The bank referred the case to the banking court who issued his arrest warrants.
The arrested defaulter was handed over to the Gulberg police for interrogation.
