Punjab starts buying wheat from growers

LAHORE

Punjab Food Department has finally started buying of wheat from the growers and on first day (Monday) procured about 8,000 tons from Bahawalpur Division.

According to an official, wheat procurement campaign is continuing in Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur and Rahimyar Khan districts and issuance of gunny bags as well as actual wheat buying mainly continued in these districts so far.

An official said that gunny bags for buying of 130,000 ton wheat have been issued to farmers in the province as part of first leg of procurement drive. To a question said, gunny bags distribution is being started in Dera Ghazi Khan Division and some other districts of the province, including Multan, Lodhran and Bhakkar.

He expressed the hope that wheat procurement would gain momentum in about a week time. On the other hand, Kissan Board Pakistan expressed sheer anguish on what it called non-friendly policies of the provincial government, saying most of the wheat crop in Southern Punjab has been harvested but Food Department failed to intervene in the market for stabilising wheat price.

Nisar Advocate, President KBP said that despite the fact that wheat had been matured early this year and Food Department should have initiated procurement campaign much earlier. He warned that protest would be organised outside offices of food department if immediate full-fledged start of procurement drive is not initiated. 

Charity dinner: The Patient Welfare Society, Shaikh Zayed Medical Complex, Lahore organised a charity dinner for raising funds for poor patients at a local hotel here. According to a press release issued here Monday, Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khwaja Salman Rafique, MPA Ghazali Saleem Butt (Member Board of Governors), MM Khan (Member Board of Governors), Mrs Seemi Elahi, Vice-President Patient Welfare Society, Prof Dr Farid Ahmad Khan,  Shaikh Zayed Medical Complex, Lahore Chairman and Dean and a large number of philanthropists attended the event. Members of the patient welfare society SZH were also present on the occasion.

Addressing on the occasion, Chairman & Dean SZMC Prof Dr Farid Ahmad Khan said the basic purpose for organising this charity dinner is to generate funds for the treatment and provision of other medical facilities to the deserving patients in Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. He praised the efforts of Chaudhry Muhammad Munir for arranging this charity dinner for 700 people.

He thanked all the philanthropists who had donated money to the hospital and assured them that their money would only be used for the welfare of poor patients. He stressed the need to generate more funds for deserving patients in the future.

Khawaja Salman Rafique praised the efforts of Patients Welfare Society for raising funds for deserving patients.