Ensure Availability of Eatables at Fixed Rates, Chief Secretary Tells Officers

13/09/22

Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal has directed all the deputy commissioners to ensure the availability of food items at fixed rates and keep a close check on the supply and demand of the items along with the prices. He gave this instruction while presiding over a video link meeting of all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners at the Civil Secretariat here on Tuesday. The meeting reviewed prices and availability of daily-use items and public welfare initiatives. Speaking at the meeting, the Chief Secretary said that profiteering would not be tolerated in any case. He asked the officers to fully monitor the auction process in the agricultural markets to ensure stability in the prices of vegetables and fruits. He said that only the notified officer would be authorized for price checking. The Chief Secretary also issued instructions regarding the continuation of public welfare measures. He directed deputy commissioners to obtain fitness certificates from all vehicles by October 15 as part of measures to prevent smog. The divisional commissioners of Faisalabad and Bahawalpur gave a detailed briefing. The Chief Secretary was told that more than 15,000 places were inspected in Faisalabad division during one week with officials imposing fines of Rs 2.1 million, registering 40 cases and arresting 46 people over different violations. Similarly, the authorities imposed fines of Rs 1.4 million, registered 52 cases and arrested 166 people in Bahawalpur division. Under the public welfare initiatives, as many as 2235 open manholes in Faisalabad and 4134 in Bahawalpur division were covered and complaints related to cleanliness and sewage were addressed timely.