BAHAWALPUR: The Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) research work in agriculture has been acknowledged by Prime Minister Imran Khan at Wednesday’s Kissan convention here, says Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Athar Mahboob.

Dr Mahboob told Dawn on Thursday that the university had developed three new cotton varieties IUB-222, MM-58 and IUB-13 from 2015 to 2020 and the results were highly encouraging. He said maize-soybean strip intercropping technology was introduced by local experts and both crops were grown simultaneously on a piece of land in 2016.

Afterwards, he said, its demonstration was arranged at two sites in Bahawalpur and Faisalabad. The technology proved successful and it was confirmed through demonstration at 10 places -- nine in Punjab and one in Islamabad, he said.

He claimed that the soybean-maize intercropping technology increased the net profit.

The vice chancellor said the Punjab government had selected the IUB for installation of a 2.5MW solar power plant to be funded by the government while its PC-1 costing Rs304.690 million had already been approved by the Departmental Development Sub-Committee (DDSC). The excess electricity, he said, would be sold to the Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) and the plant was expected to provide economic benefit of Rs466 million over a period of 25 years.

FARMERS’ PROTEST: Several farmers’ organisations hit out at the government for not inviting their members to the Kissan convention.

A meeting of associations’ representatives chaired by central president Jam Hazoor Bakhsh of Pakistan Kissan Board lodged strong protest over the government decision of ignoring the genuine farmers. They passed a resolution condemning the government move.

CANTT POLLS: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday announced its five candidates for the Cantonment Board (CB) election.

Rehan Bin Javed has been nominated for ward 1, Ijaz Bhatti for ward 2, Akhtar Chohan for ward 3, Abdul Hamid Khan Baloch for ward 4 and Akhtar Khan Baloch for ward 5.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2021