Chief Secretary Punjab Yousaf Naseem Khokhar on Sunday has said that use of polythene bags for shopping must be minimized as these are causing environmental pollution. He said that a strategy has been prepared to phase out plastic bags and distribution of cloth bags is a 'first step' towards this objective. He was talking to reporters during his visit to Ramazan bazaar Johar Town. He heard complaints of consumers and ordered the authorities to resolve their problems.
Commissioner Lahore Division Mujtaba Piracha, distributed cloth bags among consumers to create awareness about harms of ploythene bags. He appealed to people to prefer use of cloth bags instead of plastic bags. He said that as per vision of the prime minister of Pakistan it is a priority of the provincial government to overcome environmental pollution. "We all will have to make collective efforts against pollution and media can play an important role in creating awareness among people in this regard," he opined.
He mentioned that all government machinery is working day and night to ensure best arrangements for Ramazan bazaars and provincial ministers and administrative officers are conducting regular visits to these facilities to provide relief to people in the holy month. He said that demand of lemon, tomato and onion is high due to subsidy in Ramazan bazaars but their sufficient supply is being ensured. Similarly, numbers of counters for sugar sale have been increased due to rush of buyers. A proposal to allow sale of upto 2kg of sugar in Ramazan bazaars would be considered in the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Price Control whereas as sale of upto 2 kg of the commodity has already been allowed for elderly people, he concluded. Deputy Commissioner Saleh Saeed told journalists that a campaign to distribute cloth bags has been started to discourage use of plastic bags. She said that the drive is aimed at creating awareness among citizen about harms of polythene bags which are causing environmental hazards. The district administration, in collaboration with Sapphire Retail Group, is distributing 10000 cloth bags in Ramazan bazaars in the city, she added.