Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has finally launched the ration card scheme, which aims to relieve the poor and working class of the province from the burden of inflation. This historic project was announced by Provincial Minister for Labor Faisal Ayub Khokhar during a press briefing at the Punjab Social Security Head Office in Lahore. He termed the initiative a “revolutionary step” by the Punjab government for the poor and working class.
Faisal Ayub Khokhar said that the process of distributing ration cards has started in districts like Sahiwal, Multan, Lahore, and Kasur since July this year. He said that the scheme will be extended to all districts of Punjab in the next 5 to 6 months, which shows that the government intends to complete the project quickly. He emphasized that this was a promise made to the people whose fulfillment was eagerly awaited.
Under this scheme, 1.2 million deserving families across Punjab will be provided with rations worth at least Rs 3,000 every month. These cards will be reserved for registered workers only, and to ensure transparency, daily monitoring will be done to see how many people have been registered and how many cards have been distributed.
The provincial minister appreciated the efforts of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and the Labor Department, who not only made the distribution of ration cards possible but also took other important steps for the welfare of the working class. These steps include the decision to install modern medical equipment worth Rs 5.5 billion in Punjab Social Security Hospitals, which was taken in a recent general body meeting. In addition, OPD (outpatient department) has also been started in these hospitals during the evening shift, with the aim of providing quality and better medical facilities to the workers. Khokhar claimed that after these measures, the facilities of social security hospitals will be better than those of private hospitals so that workers can get the treatment they truly deserve. This scheme and the accompanying measures in the health sector reflect a comprehensive approach by the Punjab government towards social security and public welfare.
