Imran Khan inaugurated Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan expanded ‘Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye’ initiative to Gujranwala, Lahore and Multan and directed the authorities concerned not to compromise on quality of food served to the needy people.

He inaugurated four food trucks that will serve free cooked meal to daily-wage earners across the cities. With addition of four trucks under the expansion plan, the total number of such vehicles reaches 16.

Under the programme, 12 food trucks are already being run in five cities, including Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore, Faisalabad and Peshawar. Each truck feeds 1,000-1,500 people twice a day on specified service points.

Special Assistant to the PM (SAPM) on Social Welfare Senator Dr Sania Nishtar and Managing Director of Pakistan Baitul Mal Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar briefed the prime minister on the expansion plan of free food service. SAPM Shahbaz Gill and Senator Faisal Javed were also present on the occasion.

During the briefing, when the prime minister asked if there was any mechanism for quality audit, Sania Nishtar said they had received some complaints from Peshawar regarding the quality of food, which were addressed later.

The prime minister directed that there should be no compromise on quality of food, both at trucks as well as Panagahs (shelter homes), because the poor, who felt contented only for getting free food, would never complain about its quality.

Reiterating his government’s commitment to serve the poor without hurting their dignity, the prime minister said such initiatives were the reflection of ‘State of Madina’ which had taken the responsibility of its poor people.

The prime minister was informed that by October this year, “Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye” operations would be expanded to all the four provinces and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan with an overall fleet of 40 food trucks in 29 cities that would feed 40,000 people every day and 1.46 million people annually.

To date, 831,625 meals have been served across Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Islamabad.

The initiative was officially launched by the prime minister on March 10 this year to serve free meals to the deserving people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Under the Ehsaas umbrella, this programme is run through a public-private partnership whereby Pakistan Baitul Mal was responsible for the operation of food trucks and Saylani Welfare International Trust for provision of meals.

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