RAWALPINDI: As many as 15,000 Nigehban Cards have been distributed in Rawalpindi district to provide Rs10,000 to each family for the purchase of edibles.

Meanwhile, a Ramazan bazaar, two cart bazaars in the garrison city and 60 fair price shops have been set up in the district.

Talking to Dawn, Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema said that 16 Dastarkhawans, including seven in the garrison city, had been arranged for Iftar in different parts of the district to facilitate more than 7,250 people.

He said that with the cooperation of philanthropists, the district administration had established dastarkhawans at Bank Road, three government-run hospitals, including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital, Government Transport Bus Stand Saddar, Raja Bazaar and Tehsil Headquarters Hospitals in Gujar Khan, Taxila, Kahuta, Kallar Syedan and other areas.

He said that assistant commissioners would ensure that quality food was distributed among the people and that a daily monitoring report would be sent to the Punjab government.

About the Nigehban Cards, the deputy commissioner said that more than 15,000 cards had been delivered to doorsteps in the first two phases, and more cards would be disbursed in the next phase.

“As many as 3,601 cards were disbursed in Rawalpindi, 5,728 in Gujar Khan, 1,812 in Kahuta, 1,790 in Kallar Syedan and 845 in Taxila,” he said. He added that people would purchase edibles with this amount and spend Ramazan without any hurdle or standing in long queues.

He said that the provincial government had given special instructions to check whether people had received and benefited from the scheme.

Regarding fair price shops, he said that as many as 60 had been established in different parts of the district, while one model bazaar had been set up at Chur Chowk.

In the model bazaar, he said, nine stalls had been allocated for vegetables, nine for fruits, three for pulses and vegetable oil, two for chicken, one for sugar and one for wheat flour.

He said that assistant commissioners were monitoring the quality of edibles, while the district administration had formed teams to ensure implementation of the official price list.

He added that people should inform the authorities about any issues, adding that complaint centres had been established at all facilities.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2026