ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar presided over a workshop of Ehsaas Panagah teams on Wednesday.

Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD), Muhammad Ali Shahzada, Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, Managing Director Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) and Additional Secretary PASSD, Captain Saeed Ahmad Nawaz (retd) also attended the event.

Speaking at the workshop, Nishtar said, Prime Minister has given strict instructions that people visiting Panagahs should be served with dignity and there should be no compromise on quality of service, maintenance, hygiene and cleanliness and food quantity as well as quality. “We are fully committed to improving standards and will soon introduce digital monitoring of Ehsaas Panagahs”, she said. To ensure that people are served with utmost dignity and self-respect, Ehsaas is providing refresher training to the staff of Panagahs, she added. The administrative, operational and monitoring staff of all Ehsaas Panagahs including assistant directors, deputy directors and shift supervisors joined the workshop. During the workshop, a stocktake was done of the factors which impact quality, gaps were assessed, and a strategy was developed to improve standards. New monitoring protocols were also developed. “Digital monitoring will now be mapped into monitoring dashboards and there will be strict accountability,” the SAPM said.

The workshop reviewed living and catering standards to create a more viable living environment in Panagahs.

Under the Ehsaas umbrella, 22 Panagahs have been built up so far nationwide. These Panagahs provide beds, meals, essentials and hygiene facilities. Each Panagah serves free meals to 400 people and offers 100-bed facility for overnight stay.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021