SA HIWAL: The Ghaziabad police on Friday baton-charged wheat farmers and registered a case against 40 of them when they protested being inconvenienced at the food centre of 170/9-L, where they had gone to collect gunny bags.

The farmers later cried out against police high-handedness and refusal to lend a sympathetic ear to their demands such as proper display ofrate list and othernecessary arrangements at the food centre.

The district food department established a wheat procurement centre at 170/9-L for 18 surrounding villages. The department announced distribution of gunny bags on April 20 and around 1,200 farmers gathered there and found inadequate arrangements.

`The centre lacks arrangements for farmers such as display of rate list, names for gunny bags distribution, tents and water,` a farmer from 167/9-1 told reporters. Only threepolice personnel were deputed at the centre.

The farmers discussed their concerns with Fayyaz Hussain, the centre in-charge, but he did not pay heed. The anguished farmers started chanting slogans against the food officials who sent for the Ghaziabad police.

Eyewitnesses said police resorted to baton-charge and manhandling of the farmers and the food centre had to wind up the dealing.

Police registered a case against 40 farmers, six of them nominated, under sections 382, 506 and 149 of PPC on the complaint of Fayyaz Hussain.

CROP BURNT: A farmer`s wheat crop having market value of Rs600,000 burnt to ashes in village 14/9-L, Kasowal, in Chichawatni tehsil on Thursday.

Reports said the carelessness of neighbouring farmer Muhammad Younas caused the incident which destroyed the standing crop on sixacre land of farmer Master Maqbool Kamboh.Farmer Younas after harvesting his wheat crop from thresher decided to burn the remaining straws. He torched it but few burnt ashes fell on the neighboring fields which caused a fire and within no time the whole crop burnt.

CENSUS: At least 6,000 personnel will conduct population census during the second phase starting from April 25 in Sahiwal and Okara districts.

It is learnt that the Sahiwal division has been divided into 771 circles and 6,134 blocks. Among these 261 circles and 2,052 blocks, 328 circles and 2,552 blocks, and 183 circles and 1,530 blocks are located in Sahiwal, Okara and Pakpattan districts, respectively.

The census staff is reportedly hired from education, agriculture, revenue, health and the local government and census department.

DCO Muhammad Khan Khichi said the census would continue for one month and all security and logistic arrangements had been made accordingly.