KARACHI: Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Saturday said that over one million deserving people had been given Rs2.14 billion for the purchase of flour across the province.

Speaking at a press conference, he said that the provincial government had allocated Rs15.6bn for the over 7.8m families for purchase of flour and each family would be given Rs2,000 each.

He said that as many as 3,824,145 families had so far been sent messages for availing themselves of the subsidy. “If anyone feels that they are deserving, they should approach the nearest Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) centre and they will be registered within 24 hours,” he said, adding that the provincial government will add another Rs5bn to the subsidy amount if the need arose.

He said that looking at the situation of free flour distribution in the whole of Pakistan, the Sindh government had made a coordinated strategy to deliver money to the beneficiaries with the support of BISP instead of flour distribution in the province.

To a question, he said that the Pakistan Peoples Party had decided to build houses for the flood victims in the province, besides providing assistance to the flood-affected farmers for sowing crops.

He said that those benefactors should take steps to distribute aid in a systematic and disciplined manner.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2023