Punjab govt promises to implement new bread prices, blasts those criticising the move
Pakistan
Bilal Yasin sees 80pc implementation so far; Azma Bokhari says no ‘no’ in Maryam’s dictionary
- Information minister says no one even thought about cheaper roti during the past six years
- Food minister says the same people had named Metro as 'Jangla Bus'
- Maryam last week ordered reducing roti price to Rs16 and that of naan to Rs20
LAHORE (Dunya News/Web Desk) – Punjab cabinet member Bilal Yasin on Wednesday said there was no use of providing a relief of billions of rupees if the benefits didn’t transfer to the masses, as his colleague Azma Bokhari made it clear that the word “no” wasn’t in the dictionary of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
Yasin, who is the food minister, told a press conference said that the notification about providing cheaper bread [roti and naan] had so far been implemented around 80 per cent and the district administration across Punjab was working tirelessly to execute the government orders.
Maryam was concerned about only the wellbeing of ordinary people, said Information Minister Bokhari.
She noted that no one had even thought about the bread prices during the last five years, as she described Maryam as a trendsetter and added that others were following her – a reference to the decision taken by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to introduce similar official bread rates in the province.
Maryam last week ordered to fix the 100 gram roti price at Rs16, which is Rs20 in the case of 120 gram for naan in Lahore and some other areas for tandoors.
However, the new official roti price for most of the districts is Rs15, as the officials concerned have been strictly ordered to implement the government orders and are scrambling to achieve the goal.
The chief minister in an earlier tweet had promised that the people would feel the implementation of new roti and naan prices within days.
Commenting on the statements issued by the rival PTI leaders who say the decision is just a gimmick, the two provincial provincials said they were the same people who had previously the Metro – a pro-people project – as “Jangla Bus”.
Yasin also told the reporters that many tandoor owners had been arrested and a fine to the tune of millions imposed on those violating the government notification.
New roti and naan prices were fixed after thorough calculations, Yasin said, adding that the decision wasn’t arbitrary in nature, as Bokhari and he referred to the recent reduction in flour prices.
Maryam is so serious about the new prices that she paid a surprise visit to a tandoor in Murree on Tuesday, where she along with her father Nawaz Sharif for some days after Eid.
And on Wednesday, both Nawaz and Maryam again reached a tandoor at Adda Plot near their Jati Umra residence after returning from the hill station.
