Punjab govt allocates Rs 100 mn for food department

Lahore: The Punjab government has set aside Rs 100 million for the Food Department in the budget to replace its current storing wheat mechanism with high quality steel silos to cut contamination and losses. The department would hire consultants to carry out a study to design and standardise the silos with this amount.

'Ensuring availability of quality flour at affordable prices is an important part of the mandate of the Food Department. Modern, efficient storage arrangement will greatly facilitate the wheat operation of the food development,' the sources added.

The replacement of obsolete go-downs with the new silos has become imperative and a strategy next year to focus on maintaining adequate food grain reserves, particularly wheat reserves for food security.

The department plans to set up the silos of 15,000 capacity each in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur and also develop a bulk-handling-and-transportation system of food grains in the Punjab.