SUKKUR: The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) is a unique social safety net that provides dignity, empowerment and meaning of life to its beneficiaries. Besides being a poverty management tool, the BISP has special emphasis on poverty graduation as well. Some 50,000 BISP beneficiaries have benefited from the Prime Minister’s Interest Free Loan Scheme and are en-route to graduate from poverty.
This was stated by the Minister of State and Chairperson BISP MNA Marvi Memon during her visit to Village Ali Bakhsh Rind in Tehsil Bulri Shah Karim of Tando Muhammad Khan where she interacted with beneficiaries and had meal with them. The purpose of the visit was to gain firsthand knowledge of the conditions of the beneficiaries in remote areas of Sindh. She inquired the beneficiaries regarding timely and full payment of cash transfer and sought feedback from them. The beneficiaries apprised the chairperson of their problems, especially scarcity of water in the area. The chairperson assured them that she would raise the highlighted issues at appropriate forum for early resolution. Chairperson BISP was delighted to meet Kalsoom and Sanghari who built their homes with the stipend of BISP. She emphasised that other beneficiaries should learn from these two women.
The chairperson informed the beneficiaries that new survey for National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) update has been started. She told them to get themselves registered, when the survey teams visit them.
Speaking to the media, Chairperson BISP stated that the provincial governments should focus on development in their respective provinces instead of mudslinging. The federal government would fulfil its commitment of conducting census on time. She welcomed the decision of Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto to contest elections as their presence in parliament would strengthen it further. The minister reiterated that PPP would gain nothing from holding rallies in Punjab as performance is the only criteria for success. She also said that the way Nusrat Sehar was treated in the Sindh Assembly was very much inappropriate. She added that the apology by Imdad Patafi was the right step. Later, Chairperson BISP held a meeting with the delegation of Aga Khan Foundation at Karachi that included Dr Zahid Memon, Imran Baloch, Dr Rozina Karamlani, Dr Tanzeela and Taj Din Shah Rashidi. The Aga Khan Foundation intends to conduct a household survey in Jamshoro utilising the BISP data.
