TOBA TEK SINGH: Abdul Rasheed walks slowly in his three-acre grapevine yard and examines a light green bunch of grapes. He says he will get the first crop from the yard within a few weeks.

The yard is located in Pirmahal’s Chak 319-GB, an area quite unfamiliar to grapevines because of its hot and humid climate. But farmers have been taking interest in harvesting grapes on their farmland for a better income.

Rasheed took inspiration from farmers like Zahid Ali, of Chak 319-GB, who has cultivated grapevines on his six acres. He has been harvesting a good quality yield for the last one year.

Pirmahal-based crop consultant Mian Asad Hafeez said after successful cultivation of grapes in Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Sheikhupura, farmers who were facing huge losses in crops of sugarcane and wheat were turning to grapes.

He said MNA Chaudhry Asadur Rehman was also going to cultivate grapes on his 13-acre farm in Pirmahal.

Though grapes are sweet, the initial cost of cultivation is quite sour. Hafeez said one acre cost for cultivation was Rs200,000 to Rs250,000.

Faisalabad Ayub Agriculture Research Centre’s agronomy research officer Ashiq Husain said grapes had presently been planted on more than 600 acres in Punjab and every year its acreage was increasing.

He said an acre crop of grapes could give Rs500,000 to Rs1 million to the owner.

He said saplings were available in private farms.

A grape nursery owner, Rana Abdul Qayum, said that more than 700 plants are planted in an acre and every plant produces more than 12kg grapes every year.

INJURED: Four minor students of a private school were injured when they fell from a running van in Pirmahal on Wednesday.

After attending the summer camp of their school in the Bhussi locality, Muqadas Fatima, Alina, Faisal and Ali Raza, all aged 5 to 10 years, were traveling in the van and fell to ground due to speeding.

They were shifted to the Pirmahal Tehsil Headquarters hospital while Alina was referred to the Toba District Headquarters Hospital.

Pirmahal police arrested driver Junaid Mazhar.

LAND: Ninety per cent of the computerisation of land record of Toba tehsil has been completed, Land Record Assistant Director Syed Babar Ali told reporters on Wednesday.

Of the 168 villages of Toba tehsil, the record of 152 villages has been computerised. He said every day 80 to 100 applications were received by his office, of which 70 percent of the applicants demanded the computerised land ownership deed copy while the remaining 30 percent were of transfer of land.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2015

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