F.P. Report
LAKKI MARWAT: The lock down imposed by government to contain the spread of Corona virus has restricted rural population of the district to their villages and hamlets. Villagers avoid visiting urban localities for their need as bazaars, markets and public places lack hustle and bustle. Elders spend the day sitting in hujras (common places) or discus local and national issues.
The pandemic is the centre of discussion and those taking part in it pass comments of their choice according to their knowledge”, said an elder. He said that villagers were aware of the severity of disease and they had taken preventive measures seriously. Another elder told Dawn that rural localities were free from rush and crowd places and that the precautionary steps like social distancing and public contacts were naturally implemented there. The restrictions have also forced the youths and students to stay indoors.
Many young people play games or they spend the day in green fields of wheat and gram crops. “The green plants of gram and its beans/grains are a delicious food and is eaten by people of all ages in rural localities”, said a former nazim, adding that young people roast the green gram beans and eat them after separating the part of gram plant on which the grain grows.
He said that green beans were consumed with salt or added to salad. “The leaves of the plants are also consumed directly with salt and are used along grains in making sauce (chutni) and spinach (palak)”, a villager said. The villagers said that the lock down had disconnected them from urban localities providing them the opportunity to enjoy foods prepared from gram plant and its grams having nutritional importance and health benefits.
Two killed in firing incident: Two people were killed and three others including a woman sustained bullet injures in separate firing incidents in parts of the district, police said on Saturday. The said that the first shooting incident occurred near Sattar Koroona in the limits of Lakki Marwat police station. Police said that unidentified gunmen killed Humayun Shah (34) and his friend Ahmad Ali (22) when they were going to Lakki city from Dallokhel village in a motorcar.
“The assailant escaped the scene while the bodies were shifted to government city hospital”, they maintained. Complainant Ismail Shah told police in his preliminary report that he found his brother Ibrahim Shah and his friend Ahmad Ali lying in pool of blood when he reached the scene of crime. He told police that both were killed with a firearm and he did not know about the enmity his brother or his friend had with anyone. Police said that bodies were handed over to relatives for burial after fulfilling medico legal formalities.
They said that a case was registered against unknown killer(s) under section 302 (premeditated murder) of Pakistan Penal Code in Lakki Marwat police station. Separately, a man shot and wounded his wife, father in law and brother in law over a domestic dispute in Daulat Adamzai village of Tajori town.
Complainant Naseem Gul told police in injured condition that he along with his son Saeed Shah had gone to his daughter’s house to reconcile a domestic dispute between her and her husband. He claimed that all of a sudden his son in law Jamil Ahmad along with his brother Saddam Hussain entered the house and opened fire on them, inflicting injuries to him, his son and daughter.
Police said that they had started investigation after registration of case against accused persons who escaped the place. Agriculture department to set up camps to save crops from locust attack: The agriculture department has set up camps in several rural localities of the district to save crops from locust attack and kill the insects by carrying out spray. In Feb, swarms of locusts had invaded the district, prompting local administration and experts of agriculture department to take preventive measures. The administration had formed special teams consisting of field experts of agriculture department to conduct spray in affected areas to kill locusts.
After successful efforts the pests were eliminated in rural areas but the fresh attack of locusts had spread a wave of unrest and fear among local farmer community. “The agriculture department experts had successfully eliminated the insects when they first invaded the crops”, claimed district director agriculture Abdul Qayyum Khan, saying that locusts laid eggs during their stay and adult insects have now matured. He said that the department established permanent camps in rural areas where spay was earlier carried out and deployed staff there to cope with the situation. He said that the millions of insects had appeared in areas where the agriculture department had conducted spray.
In first phase, spray is being carried out in Teri Kilay of union council Titterkhel and Wanda Karim Khan of union council Darra Pezu to eliminate the pests”, maintained the official, adding that millions of locusts have been noticed in rural areas and that all out efforts are being made to save crops from them. He added that spray would be conducted in other affected areas.
