Government inaugurates same Langarkhana twice in seven months

ISLAMABAD: The government has inaugurated the same ‘Langarkhana’ in PIMS Hospital twice during the last seven months.

The only difference was the donors as both times different donors offered the same project. In May 2019, the government inaugurated a shelter-cum-langarkhana (soup kitchen) built for the underprivileged patients’ attendants. Afraz Abbasi —a local resident funded the project and built a shelter for the attendants who come to visit the patients from far-flung areas. According to Afraz Abbasi, initially he just wanted to build the shelter for underprivileged and poor people who came to visit the patients. There was no arrangement or shelters for the attendants in PIMS. During the rainy seasons, the people had no place to hide themselves in the hospital vicinity. Once the shelter was built the then Executive Director (ED) suggested that there should be some arrangement of free food for the needy people.

“I asked my friends about this suggestion who agreed to fund this project. Hence, we initiated the free food service for the poor and needy people. It wasn’t a costly project as the total expenditure for one time meal was only Rs15,000 to Rs20,000. On average 200 to 300 patients or their attendants were provided free food twice a day,” commented Afraz Abbasi.

“The project was running successfully until Friday January 17 when I saw news on TV that the government inaugurated the same shelter that I built with a different banner of Saylani Welfare Trust under Prime Minister’s Ehsas Programme. They did not even inform me. I have contacted the PIMS management and informed them to shift the newly inaugurated langarkhana somewhere else as this shelter was built with my money and they should remove the banners of Saylani Welfare Trust. I have no objection to the langarkhana but it should not utilise the place which I built,” commented Abbasi. According to a source privy to the development, even the crockery used during re-inauguration of the langarkhana on Friday was from the previous management which was running this project. It is pertinent to mention here that last year the government under the Ehsaas programme initiated langarkhana scheme in collaboration with Saylani Welfare International Trust. The aim of this project is to feed the poor. Saylani Welfare International Trust is a charity focusing on feeding the homeless people in different cities of Pakistani. It was established in May 1999 and is based in Karachi.

When contacted, a government official said that it was true that the shelter was inaugurated last year. However, the present one was a totally different initiative. This project was started with the collaboration of the government.

When asked if the previous management was doing the same thing (providing food to poor), what is new in this project, he hung up.