Exemplary law, order during Muharram: minister

MULTAN: Punjab Minister for Energy Dr Akhtar Malik Saturday said that exemplary law and order situation would be maintained during Muharram.

Presiding over a meeting regarding Muharram arrangements and talking to media here, he said that the Punjab government had issued orders for keeping security red alert in Muharram. He said that the people from all walks of life were on one platform regarding peace in the city. Dr Akhtar Malik said that the chief minister had deputed him as a focal person regarding Muharram for Multan district.

All the parliamentarians would also remain present in their respective constituencies during these days. Deputy Commissioner Ali Shahzad said that all the construction work on Muharram procession routes was being completed.

Mepco, SNGPL, Wasa, MWMC and all other departments were fully alert, he said and added that the District Peace Committee members were also in contact with the district administration. City Police Officer (CPO) Munir Masud Marth said that 485 mourning processions and 1,533 Majalis would be held across the district. He said that the security of all worship places, including sensitive sites, would be kept red alert.

MPAs Haji Javed Akhtar Ansari, Wasif Mazhar Raan, Mian Tariq, Sabeen Gul and District Peace Committee members were also present.

Botanical spray in cotton fields: Spray of plant extracts or botanical mixture on cotton crop was of vital importance to control enemy pests as it helped keep attracting predators to abolish enemy pests from cotton crop. This was stated by Secretary Agriculture South Punjab Saqib Ateel while inspecting a field in Rohilanwali, district Muzaffargarh. He also noticed a sparrow’s nest at a cotton plant which became focus of attention for the visiting team. The sparrow was founding feeding insects to her newborn children.

Instead of routine pesticides, the extracts of various plants were used as spray in the cotton field. The botanical spray proved beneficial as there was no pressure of enemy pests, found in the cotton field. Extracts of different plants Neem, Kortuma, Oak, Tobbacco etc could be used as spray on cotton crop. It also offered an opportunity to predators to prey enemy pests from cotton crop. Saqib Ateel recommended regular inspection of crop to monitor pest pressure and proposed farmers to use botanical spray in case of need. The birds’ growth in cotton plants would kill pests in a natural way. The predator birds were the natural way of killing pests years back before the entry of costly pesticides. The predator birds started migrating from agricultural fields after poisonous sprays conducted in agriculture fields. All the species of birds started disappearing from fields since the poisonous sprays were conducted in agriculture fields. The predators hunt their prey using their enhanced kind of vision and the movement of the prey.

They are able to locate the prey on the basis of its movement and sound made by it. They usually fly high in order to see a large area for hunting the prey. They feed on small insects as well as the animals.