LAHORE: On the directives of the Punjab Chief Minister, the authorities have been striving hard to implementation of the cut in the price of Roti and so far, 817 people were arrested and 347 cases registered for violation of the government’s directives.
The authorities have also imposed fine amounting to Rs11.7 million for overcharging during the ongoing campaign during the past five days.
The report regarding the actions was presented during a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman, here at Civil Secretariat. The administrative secretaries of industries and food departments, Chairman PITB and officers concerned attended the meeting while all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated through video link.
The Chief Secretary said that the reduction in the price of Roti is a great initiative of the Punjab government to provide relief to the people, adding that the availability at new rates would be ensured in any case. He mentioned that the new price of Roti was fixed, keeping in mind the cut in the price of flour and other expenses, adding that there is no justification for selling at a higher price. He directed that Price Control Magistrates must remain active in the field for monitoring the rates.
The secretary industries gave a detailed briefing at the meeting. He said that so far more than 22,000 ‘Tandoors’ have been inspected and 94 of them have been sealed.
In 10 districts including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, the price of Roti has been fixed at Rs16, while its price has been fixed at Rs15 in 26 districts. He maintained that the price of Roti in DG Khan and Rajanpur has been set at Rs13 while it has been fixed at Rs12 in Muzaffargarh and Kot Addu.
He further stated that as per the instructions of the Chief Minister of Punjab, banners showing new price of Roti have been displayed at ‘Tandoors’ and in case of overcharging the citizens can lodge complaints on the Qeemat Punjab App or complaint cell No. 08000-2345.
