Lagatar24 Desk
Lahore, March 30: Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province said that at least 11 individuals, including women, had recently perished while attempting to obtain free wheat from official distribution points.
According to reports, countless individuals went to government distribution centres after Pakistan’s cash-strapped government launched a free flour programme for the underprivileged, particularly in Punjab province, to combat the country’s increasing inflation. The plan tries to quell Imran Khan’s burgeoning popularity among Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters.
Tuesday’s stampedes at free flour distribution sites in Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, and Okara districts of south Punjab resulted in the deaths of two elderly ladies and a male and the injury of 60 other people.
Fasailabad, Jehanian, and Multan are the other districts where fatalities have been recorded.
Officers have been accused of inciting chaos at the centres by shoving and charging people who were lined up in large lines to receive free flour.
After the robbery of free wheat trucks in the towns of Muzaffarghar and Rahim Yar Khan, security personnel also adopted a tougher approach.
In order to ease congestion and inconvenience for residents, Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi declared on Wednesday that free flour centres will open at 6 am across the state.
It was resolved during a meeting on Wednesday at the Chief Minister’s Office that provincial ministers and secretaries would carry out their responsibilities in their designated districts for the following three days, visit flour centres, and examine the situation for themselves.
