PESHAWAR: Under the Prime Minister’s Ramzan package, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government would distribute about 17.2 million free flour bags among 5.70 million households. It is worth mentioning here that the long queues for free flour have killed around 11 people nationwide. While fasting, people stand in never-ending queues from dawn to dusk, which ends in losing their lives, and many get injured in a stampede caused to get a bag of free flour.
Disturbing images from social media generate criticism of this scheme. People criticize the government for making poor people suffer during the holy month of Ramadan. Many said that if heavy electricity bills can reach the doorstep of poor people, why not a bag of flour?
A spokeswoman for the KP Food Department told APP on Friday that as many as 5,076,232 10 kg bags have been given to 1,752,162 families in the province as of March 30. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, free atta bags were provided via 90 mobile trucks, 103 utility stores, 5,122 registered wheat merchants, and 18 mobile wheels.
Flour package available at village level
He said the free flour package was made available to tehsils and village councils to help many people in rural areas and simplify the distribution process. He stated that seniors, women, and people with impairments were preferred.
The spokesperson asked people to avoid swarming the distribution centers and work with government representatives to ensure a steady supply of the item while also preventing accidents. He said that the package would run till the 25th of Ramadan. — APP
