ISLAMABAD, MAR 10 (DNA) – In a bid to provide relief to the poor, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday announced that the government will give direct subsidy to 30 million families across the country.

Addressing the launching ceremony of the “No one Sleeps Hungry” programme in Islamabad, PM Imran Khan said that the 30 million deserving families will be given direct subsidy from June this year.

Talking about the “Koi Bhoka Na Soye” programme, the prime minister said that under the initiative, laborers and deserving people on roads will be provided food through mobile trucks in an honorable way.

Initially, the Ehsas Food Trucks are being operated in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and at a later stage, this programme will be further expanded to other parts of the country, he added. He said that the programme was a step towards a welfare state, which always cares for its poor and deserving people.

“I always feel happy to see that deserving people are given shelter and food with honour and dignity at various Panahgahs established across Pakistan,” the prime minister added. He advised to maintain the quality of food being served at shelter homes and through Ehsas mobile trucks.

On the occasion, the prime minister said that the government will also introduce a direct subsidy programme for the farmers to boost the agriculture sector.

The Prime Minister also announced to launch a subsidy programme by June this year under which money will directly be transferred to the accounts of 30 million families. He said it will enable the poor and deserving people to procure kitchen items.

Imran Khan said similarly direct subsidy will be provided to farmers so that they can procure fertilizers and other agricultural inputs. He said this programme will also be launched in June this year.

Briefing the Prime Minister Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar said the mobile trucks will deliver food at designated points in the twin cities. She said this programme is being executed with the cooperation of Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal.

Managing Director Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal Aon Abbas Bappi said that hospitals and bus stops are especially targeted so that quality meals can be served to the deserving people.

The ‘Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye’ (EKBNS) is a new policy initiative of the federal government to eliminate hunger in the country.

The initiative is an extension of Ehsaas Langar Policy and it aims to distribute cooked meals at designated delivery points to people in need especially those at risk of or experiencing hunger. Meals will be delivered free of charge through food truck arrangements.

Many of the EKBNS recipients will be the labour class including the elderly, differently abled, labourers, daily wage earners, women and children who cannot access Ehsaas Langar sites in industrial zones and bus stations.

Two Ehsaas food trucks will serve free cooked food at various points across twin cities, Rawalpindi and Islamabad including public places, slums and hospitals while ensuring utmost dignity and quality. The meals will be cooked, stored and distributed from a truck kitchen.

As per estimates, each food truck will feed around 2000 people daily. Food will be distributed 7 days a week, 365 days a year, two times a day. On January 01, 2021 Prime Minister had announced his new year resolution that a project would be executed under Ehsaas this year to make sure that no one goes to bed hungry in the country. In line with instructions of PM, the EKBNS policy initiative has been conceptualized and designed under the umbrella of Ehsaas on fast-track basis in less than two months.

This programme has been designed in a public private partnership mode whereby Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal will be responsible for the operations of the food trucks and Saylani Welfare International Trust will be responsible for provision of meals.

In its first phase, the programme pilot is being rolled out in the twin cities under supervision of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD). Based on results of pilot phase, the initiative will be upscaled and expanded to other deserving cities in the second phase later this year.

To make EKBNS more financially sustainable, PASSD has constituted a ‘Donor Coordination Group’ that will serve as an Ehsaas channel to engage with the private sector. Pledges and commitments by the private sector, international agencies, philanthropies, civil society and individuals will be overseen by the coordination group.

And, the viability, feasibility, materialization and tracking of donations will be stringently assessed and managed by PASSD according to the rule-based policy and procedures. = DNA

====================