MUZAFFARGARH: A young girl has come forward with allegations of assault against her own father in tehsil Jatoi, about 80 kilometers away from Muzaffargarh.

The alleged rape survivor, an 18-year-old girl, appeared before a local magistrate to report the assaults she claims to have endured at the hands of her father for a long time.

According to the alleged rape survivor, she was subjected to repeated assaults, with the latest incident occurring on May 7 when her father and his friend gang-raped her. After the assault, they locked her in a room. She said he managed to escape the room on Saturday and shared her ordeal with her uncle and later police but both failed to help her.

Later, she approached the local magistrate, who ordered the registration of a case against her father. The Jatoi police registered a case and sent the girl for medical examination. PFSA teams were dispatched to gather evidence at the crime scene.

The police said they are awaiting the results of the medical examination to proceed with further action.

WATER SHORTAGE: As the irrigation department implements a rotational water supply programme, thousands of acres of land in Muzaffargarh face reduced cotton yield due to water shortages.

The closure of numerous distributaries stemming from the Muzaffargarh Canal has left hundreds of farms uncultivated.

Ghulam Abbas, a farmer from Lower Kot Wahh, is a tenant who has leased land at Rs120,000 per acre for one year from the landowner.

He says that his lease term begins in April after the wheat harvest season, expressing his intention to sow cotton crops.

However, he is currently awaiting water from the Lower Kot Wahh canal. Abbas said that the canal has been closed for a week, and when he contacted the irrigation officials, including the baildar and sub-engineer, they claimed ignorance about the water release dates.

Lower Kot Wahh operates on a seasonal flow basis and is not part of the rotational programme. Tail-end farmers are also experiencing difficulties as water fails to reach their lands.

They appealed to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to take action against irresponsible officials. Tail-end farmers, whose lands remain vacant due to water shortages, are considering cultivating spleen (tilli) crops.

On the other hand, the government is trying to boost cotton cultivation, and in this regard, Agriculture Director General Abdul Hameed visited Muzaffargarh district on Sunday, where he met with Agriculture Department officers to discuss cotton cultivation. The target for cotton cultivation across Punjab is 4 million acres.

Deputy Director of Agriculture Dr Muhammad Iqbal Niazi briefed the DG that the target for cotton cultivation in Muzaffargarh district is 183,630 acres, of which 59,226 acres have been cultivated. He said the cotton cultivation campaign will continue until May 31.

Mr Hameed said farmers should be reached out for raising awareness for more cotton cultivation.

The Punjab government is providing facilities to farmers under the campaign to boost cotton production, prioritizing the welfare of farmers and agricultural development.

Present at the meeting were Director of Agriculture DG Khan Muhammad Abid, Assistant Director of Agriculture Abdul Razzaq, and district and tehsil agriculture officers.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2024