‘Efforts being made to provide relief to people’

LAHORE : Information Minister Azma Bukhari has said the Punjab government is making every possible effort to provide relief to the people.

Azma Bukhari and Food Minister Bilal Yasin Saturday held a joint press conference at DGPR Head Office regarding Nigehban Relief package and price control mechanism during Ramazan.

Addressing the press conference, Azma Bukhari said that the Punjab government is making every possible effort to provide relief to the people.

“It is our government’s mission to take care of the poor and keep the essential prices low. It was a challenge for our government to control inflation during Ramazan. Ration is being provided to 6.5 million people at their doorsteps through Nigehban package without queuing and waiting. This is the first time in history that no major complaints have come out in such a huge programme. For the first time in the history of Punjab, Nigehban Ramadan Package and Model Bazaar are running side by side. Magistrates have been given proper training to control the prices, their monitoring is also being done through dashboards. The people of Punjab are accepting that the prices of food items have come down,” the minister said. Azma Bukhari added that CM Maryam Nawaz says that she has come to reduce the prices of all things including potatoes, tomatoes and onions.

Our government is going beyond the set target and the work of delivering ration to people at their doorsteps will be completed by 10 Ramazan. Our effort is to keep the administrative costs to a minimum. CM Punjab has announced a new survey, which will compile data by next Ramazan, the minister said.

Addressing the press conference, Food Minister Bilal Yasin said a historic and transparent relief package is being given to the public with a huge amount of Rs30 billion.

Food hampers are being given to 6.5 million people at their doorstep under the Nigehban relief package. More than 50pc of the target has been achieved in Punjab. Better management and increased supply have significantly reduced the prices of onions, tomatoes and potatoes. Devils are imprisoned in Ramazan, yet some evil elements are trying to create artificial inflation. In the last 4 days, Price Control Magistrates conducted 3 lakh inspections, whereas, 29148 violations were found. 794 FIRs were registered and 2221 people were detained. A total fine of Rs 2 crore 65 lakh has been imposed, the minister said.

He said that food prices will come down further in the coming days. Bilal Yasin said that 13 items are available at 25 percent discounted rates at 51 Agriculture Fair Price Shops across Punjab. He said government is ensuring the supply of high quality items in the food hampers.

Food authority teams are checking the quality of the items while packing. To bring down the prices, the ministers are participating in the auction process in the markets along with the district administration. Due to the efforts of the Cabinet Committee, the Cooking Oil Association has reduced the price by Rs 15 per litre and the Poultry Association has reduced the price of chicken by Rs 25 per kg in the model bazaars, the minister added.