‘Agri sector key to country’s development’

PAKPATTAN: Commissioner Sahiwal Division Javed Akhtar Mahmood has said that agriculture is a very important sector in the country’s development, which employs over 60 per cent of the population.

“Solving the issues of the farmers and ensuring immediate access to essential services, the agricultural sector will be able to grow and the country will become self-sufficient in food,” he said.

Fertilizer distribution process in Sahiwal division is transparent which has reduced overcharging and hoarding and farmers are getting abundant fertilizer as per requirement, he added while briefing on the fertilizer distribution in Sahiwal Division in an online meeting presided over by Chief Secretary Punjab for the availability of fertilizer.

Deputy Commissioner Sahiwal Kamran Khan, Additional Commissioner Coordination Shafiq Ahmed Dogar and Director Agriculture Shehbaz Akhtar were also present on this occasion. Commissioner Sahiwal said that there are 634 fertilizer dealers in Sahiwal, out of which 629 dealers have been registered with the e-system and the sale of fertilizer is going on under this mechanism.

He said that more than 680,000 urea bags have been sold since September 1, out of which 532,000 bags were sold under the e-system, which is 78.25 per cent of the total sale. Commissioner Sahiwal Javed Akhtar Mehmood further said that there is a stock of 71816 bags of urea in the division while 56209 bags are available with dealers and 15607 are in the stock of companies.

Director Agriculture Shehbaz Akhtar said that according to the instructions of the provincial government, hoarders and overcharging shopkeepers will be checked as per rules. Throughout the division, 39 FIRs have been registered from August 20 to September 21, 2022, to avoid price hike and a fine of 11 lakh 95 thousand rupees was also imposed, he said, adding that on the report of the Special Branch, 588 raids were conducted and a fine of 16 lakh 13 thousand rupees was imposed and 12 cases were registered against 9 detained persons. The Chief Secretary of Punjab expressed satisfaction over the availability of fertilizer stocks in the Sahiwal Division and directed action against hoarders and overchargers to provide fertilizer to the farmers.

DEAD CHICKEN MEAT SEIZED: During a joint successful operation of Farid Nagar police and Punjab Food Authority, an accused Zeeshan was caught carrying two drums of dead chickens on a motorcycle near Green Town. He was supplying the dead chicken to hotels, restaurants and pizza shops at cheap prices. A case was registered on the report of the Safety Officer while police arrested the accused and wasted the dead meat.

GANG BUSTED: Kalyana police arrested an inter-district dacoit gang wanted in dozens of cases. According to the police, the arrested Ali Hassan alias Bobby, a four-member dacoit gang, was being sought by the police in Sahiwal, Okara and Pakpattan districts. A large number of illegal weapons were also recovered from the dacoits. Police are investigating further.