IN a major relief package, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday announced a reduction in the price of flour after which a ten kilogram bag will sell at Rs 400 instead of Rs 550 in Punjab during the holy month of Ramadan.
The sugar price has also been slashed from Rs 75 to Rs 70 per kilogram at the Ramazan bazaars and Utility Stores till Eid.
Given the price hike which has broken the back of the people, the very relief announced by the Prime Minister will surely ease the burden on them.
Since the inflation has hit the people in every province, hence it must be ensured that this relief does not remain confine to Punjab but also reaches the people in other federating units including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Bringing the flour and sugar prices down at the Utility stores and Ramazan bazaars will also help stabilize their prices in the open market as well.
The people will now rush to the utility outlets and Ramazan bazaars to get sugar and flour at reduced rates.
Hence availability of these items in sufficient quantity must be ensured at the designated places so that the people could get them without any hassle.
Whenever such relief measure is announced, long queues are witnessed outside the utility stores and then the people are not provided with the subsidized items beyond a certain limit.
Such a scene will not emerge if the subsidised items are provided in adequate quantities either at the utility stores or Ramazan bazaars.
Then most importantly, there must not be any compromise on the quality of the subsidised items.
The government must activate the district administration to ensure that the quality items are available to the people at the Ramazan bazaars.
Since the prices of ghee/cooking oil have also gone beyond the reach of common man, some sort of subsidy should also be given on this item.
The ration programme launched by PTI government for twenty million people must be continued until the inflationary trends come down.
