Govt to tighten noose around wheat, fertiliser smugglers

CS says fertiliser shortage would badly impact crops

LAHORE:

Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal directed all deputy commissioners to tighten measures for curbing wheat and fertiliser smuggling, alongside continuing monitoring of supplies and stocks through online portals.

He issued the directives while presided over a video-link meeting of the deputy commissioners at the Civil Secretariat on Saturday.

The chief secretary said that fertilisers would adversely impact crop production. He added that the government would protect the interests of farmers in any case and would take stern action against profiteers.

In addition, other issues were discussed such as road safety violations and preparations for dealing with flooding during the rainy season. The CS ordered officers to strictly implement the directives on road safety outside schools and take action against violators.

He further said that a special period should be started in schools to highlight the importance of cleanliness and a permanent solution should be devised for the problem of garbage heaps in the cities.

The CS also issued instructions to start preparations for dealing with possible urban flooding during rains, to which divisional commissioners gave a detailed briefing through video-link. The meeting was informed that 4,077 open manholes in Lahore division, 1,534 in Gujranwala, 1,404 in Multan, 1,661 in Bahawalpur, 515 in DG Khan and 390 in Rawalpindi had been covered. Similarly, 10,372 street lights in Lahore division, 3,765 in Gujranwala, 3,284 in Multan, 2,247 in Bahawalpur, 1,671 in DG Khan and 6,849 in Rawalpindi were made functional.

The participants were told that complaints regarding sewerage and cleanliness in districts are being promptly resolved.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2022.