LAHORE, Oct 3: Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi on Monday ordered the department concerned to begin the supply of four million 20kg flour bags at a price of Rs200 each under the Ramazan package.

Presiding over a price-control meeting, the chief minister claimed that subsidizing the 4000,000 bags would cost the Punjab government Rs300 million.

The food department will oversee the process and members of the Punjab Assembly and district coordination officers will monitor the distribution.

The meeting decided the subsidized bags would be supplied three days — Friday to Sunday — a week and strictly in accordance with the allotted share. The meeting also approved a special design for the bag, which would carry moisture content information, name of the mill and not-to-be-resold mark.

The chief minister also told the participants in the meeting that in addition to the subsidized flour, the government would also arrange Ramazan Bazaars for fruits, vegetables, pulses, sugar, meat and poultry. The government will also constitute monitoring teams to check price hike during the holy month.

Meanwhile, a candidate for Suhawa tehsil nazim slot, Col Muhammad Taj (retired), called on the chief minister and withdrew his candidature in favour of the PML hopeful.

Mr Taj said on the occasion that he had followed the party discipline and the withdrawal was aimed at strengthening the PML. He said the chief minister had promised a special uplift package that would go a long way in developing his area.

PML candidate for Muzaffarghar district nazim slot Tehmina Dasti also called on the chief minister. The chief minister said some elements were out to spread rumours that the government had left the district open, which was not true.

He said: “The PML has announced support for Tehmina Dasti for district nazim slot, Khizar Hayat Gopang for Ali Pur tehsil, Rafique Khar for Kot Adhu tehsil, Abad Dogar for Muzaffarghar, and Maria Batul for Jatoi tehsil.