TOBA TEK SINGH: The University of Agricultural Faisalabad (UAF) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong will strengthen collaboration and pave the way for the sharing of more soybean accessions and technical guidance.

This was discussed at a seminar on the genomics of soybean organised by the Centre of Agricultural Biochemistry and Biotechnology (CABB) at the UAF on Tuesday.

Prof Hon Ming Lam and Prof Ting Fan Chanf from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at UAF Prof Dr Muhammad Sarwar Khan, Director of CABB UAF Prof Dr Bushra Sadia, and Dr Hafiz Mamoonur Rehman spoke.

Hon Ming Lam mentioned that they are developing stress-tolerant soybean varieties for arid and semi-arid areas in Northwest China. They also visited the fields to assess the performance of soybean accessions grown in collaboration with UAF.

The professors from the Chinese University of Hong Kong expressed hope that their germplasm will be of great value in establishing the soybean crop in the country.

Prof Dr Khan stated that these efforts will be a step forward in reducing soybean imports and will serve as a significant milestone in making the country self-sufficient in soybean production.

SELF-IMMOLATE: A grade eight student of a private school in Ghulam Muhammadabad area of Faisalabad attempted to self-immolate on Tuesday after being prohibited by his father from using or having a mobile phone.

According to the Razaabad police in Faisalabad, 13-year-old Zainul Abideen went to school after his father, Sajjad Ahmad, took his mobile phone and gave him some money to fill the petrol tank in his motorcycle.

According to his teachers and classmates, he left school after a few minutes, and at a deserted place near Chak 219-RB, he sprayed petrol on his clothes and set himself on fire.

Some passersby tried to extinguish the fire, but a major portion of his body had already been burnt. Rescue 1122 shifted him to the burn unit at the Allied Hospital, where his condition was reported to be serious.

GCUF: Teachers from the Government College University, Faisalabad, (GCUF) staged a protest demonstration in front of the university registrar’s office against the non-payment of disparity reduction allowance (DRA) to them.

Office bearers of the Academic Staff Association announced their boycott of the upcoming Punjab assembly election duties as a form of protest. They informed reporters that, according to the decision of the Punjab government, all employees of different departments were being paid a 15 per cent DRA along with their salaries. However, university teachers and other employees were being deprived of this allowance, as the Higher Education Commission has deemed the university an autonomous institution.

They stated that the district election commissioner had announced the election duty training schedule for them, but they would not attend the training until their demand to approve a 15 per cent DRA for all GCUF teachers and employees is met.

SEMINAR: A one-day international seminar was organised by the Directorate of International Linkages of the GCUF on Tuesday.

The seminar aimed to raise awareness among students about the benefits of using biological materials and making them reusable.

Prof Dr Amanullah from the Canadian University of Alberta delivered a lecture on biological materials obtained from renewable resources.

The Director of International Linkages, Prof Dr Shahzad Ali Shahid Chattha, presented a report on the performance of the directorate to the seminar participants.

He also provided information about the agreements with international universities, as well as the academic activities and scholarships associated with them.

Registrar Pro Dr Hidayat Rasool, Prof Dr Farhat Jabeen, and other department heads participated in the seminar. The seminar also discussed various educational activities and employment opportunities in Canada for Pakistani students and teachers.

FIRE: After a strenuous effort, firefighters managed to extinguish a fire that broke out in a restaurant, located on Canal Road near the Chak 204-RB bridge in Faisalabad.

They prevented the fire from spreading to the adjacent filling station.

The kitchen, electronics and parts of the building were damaged in the restaurant.

According to a report from Rescue 1122, the fire was caused by a gas leak in the kitchen.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2023