KARACHI, July 9: The federal government has directed the ministry of religious affairs and zakat that henceforth it will distribute wheat instead of cash in the drought affected areas of Sindh and in this regard Rs 190 million have been sanctioned.

This was stated in a briefing held for Sindh food minister, Hasan Ali Chaniho, here on Tuesday.

On the occasion the minister said it should be ensured that Mustahqeens are provided wheat from Sindh Government godowns. He said such wheat should not be purchased from PASCO.

Clarifying, the Minister pointed out that PASCO has only one godown in Sindh in Khairpur whereas Sindh Government has 95 godowns in all districts and talukas which would not only save it from the burden of additional expenditure but also save huge money which otherwise would have been spent on transportation.

The food secretary, Imtiaz Kazi, informed the minister about a letter written to the chief secretary for making contact with the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Zakat for the purchase of Rs 190 million worth of wheat from the Sindh government instead of PASCO.

The Director Food Sindh Iqbal Ahmed Zubedi told the meeting that previously also the food department had sent a summary to federal government through the governor and now the same has been presented again to the federal government for approval and hopefully the wheat would soon be distributed among the deserving from Sindh government godowns.—APP