LAHORE: The Provincial Minister for Food and Agriculture, Malik Khuda Bakhsh, in a Press statement here today [Nov 17] announced that the Government had made arrangements to distribute sugar in rural areas on a regular basis and had secured adequate stocks of the commodity for distribution to the public through ration depots.

The Minister said that in order to ensure regular supplies of sugar to the rural areas, the District Magistrate of each district would constitute committees comprising officials and non-officials both, at each provincial reserve centre from where the supply was to be shifted for the rural areas. Quotas for the rural areas and the share of each Union Council will also be fixed by the District Magistrates concerned.

Malik Khuda Bakhsh said both the Central and Provincial Governments attached great importance to provide sugar to the rural areas and were determined to take all possible measures in this behalf. He said the local sugar mills had produced 1,00,000 bags of sugar and, in addition to this, 1,10,000 bags of imported sugar had already reached various destinations throughout West Pakistan. The Minister said one ship carrying 95,000 tons of sugar had reached Karachi yesterday while another was expected today bringing 1,06,500 tons of sugar. About 12,70,000 bags of imported sugar were scheduled to reach Karachi during the months of November and December. — Agency

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2018