Give us safe food: Sindh Assembly passes law to regulate eateries

Food authority to be established to ensure hygiene and safety of food

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly passed a law on Wednesday to establish the Sindh Food Authority to ensure healthiness, hygiene and safety of food by regulating eateries in the province.

According to the law, the provincial government will establish an autonomous authority under the supervision of the food minister to regulate restaurants, shops and other eateries in the province. The food secretary will work as the convener of the authority and its members will include the chairperson of standing committee of Sindh Assembly on food, health, education and public health engineering secretaries, two members of the provincial assembly and representatives of food industry and consumers.

"We will hire food supervisors to inspect eateries and ensure qualitative and healthy food," said Food Minister Nasir Shah.
Regarding offences and penalties, the government has fixed three years' imprisonment and Rs1 million for supplying adulterated food that causes injury or partial disability.



Water woes and other issues

Meanwhile, opposition members in Sindh Assembly decried on Wednesday the severe shortage and contamination of drinking water and demanded action against corruption officials in water utilities in Karachi and other districts of Sindh.

"A recent research report published by Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has revealed that most domestic water sources are tainted with organic and chemical contaminations in Sindh," said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman. "This is a charge-sheet against the local government minister.

People living even in front of Bilawal House are deprived of potable water facility." He criticised government officials for getting extortion from illegal hydrants in Karachi, which helped flourish the business of tanker mafia.



Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro acknowledged the issue of water scarcity and said the issue will be resolved after K-IV project. According to him, Clifton and Defence areas of Karachi are tail-end areas, which is why people living there suffer more hurdles in getting drinking water. "We have demolished many illegal hydrants and allegations that government runs hydrants are unfounded," he said.

"Why is there only one teacher in the government school in Younisabad, Pir Jo Goth, to teach 200 students?" Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Ghazala Siyal questioned Education Minister Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar. Dahar assured his party MPA said that he will look into the matter and ask the deputy commissioner of the area to appoint more teachers.