A meeting of the Sindh Food Authority was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister’s Special Assistant for Food Abdul Jabbar Khan where it was observed that the use of harmful spices can cause cancer.
Officials said officers from all districts of Karachi participated in the meeting. Khan said that we are the representatives of the people and are accountable to the people. The special assistant gave orders and said the use of harmful spices not only causes cancer but also other epidemics.
He is not satisfied with the performance of the food authority. A performance report should be submitted every month. He said that despite the ban on open and harmful cooking oil, how is it being sold to the public?
What is the food authority doing? Khan asked and said that the licence procedure should be simplified, registration should be done immediately, expiration date of all food items should be checked, and quality of meat, fish and other items should be checked at hotels and restaurants.
He said that RO plants are running in every street, and asked if all the RO plants are licensed, and if the water from the RO plant beneficial or harmful for the people. Khan asked the officers how many samples of RO plants have been checked. He said that milk is supplied to Karachi not only from Karachi but also from rural areas of Sindh. All entry points should be cordoned off along with the police for evaluation of milk and milk samples should be tested at the same time.
If the milk is harmful to health, it should be discarded at the same time and an FIR should be registered against the milk seller and arrested. He asked the officers from where the lab tests are conducted, to which the officers said that since the Food Authority Lab was organized in Karachi University, all the tests are conducted there.
Khan said the medical certificate of all the employees working at the bakery, hotel and restaurant should be checked. He told the officers that the deposit report of every three months should be submitted in any case, and any kind of carelessness or negligence will not be tolerated and every day visit should be ensured.
The Sindh government has decided to initiate a crop insurance programme to compensate for losses caused by various factors. In a meeting chaired by Sindh’s minister for agriculture, Sardar Mohammad Bakhsh Mahar, the secretary of agriculture and other officials were briefed about the crop insurance plan.
Mahar stated that crop insurance is essential to cover damages from potential floods, rains, diseases, heat, pests, and climate change. The government has also introduced the Benazir Hari Card to assist farmers. The goal is to provide farmers with crop insurance under the Benazir Hari Card programme.
To implement the insurance model, an insurance company will support farmers in Sindh. The provincial government wants the company to insure crops like rice, cotton, and wheat. Mahar further said that the Agriculture Department has approved a one-year pilot project for crop insurance, which will begin in the Kharif season of 2025. Under this project, the company will support farmers through Area Yield Index Insurance.
If the pilot project is successful, it will be extended to 27 more districts. After its success, sugarcane and other crops will also be included in the crop insurance program. The programme will start on a trial basis in two districts, Larkana and Ghotki, in the first phase.
