Punjab govt not to collect fee from sellers of sacrificial animals

LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided not to collect any fee from the sellers of sacrificial animals at all sale points on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha and these sale points would run on a ‘no profit no loss basis’.

It also decided to ban leaves of municipal staff for 10 days before and three days after Eid-ul-Azha. Moreover, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has directed the relevant officials to ensure ‘zero waste’ during the Eid days.

In this connection, Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafique chaired a meeting on Wednesday to finalise the Eid-ul-Azha plan, which was attended by the chief officers of municipal bodies across Punjab through a video link. Punjab Local Government Secretary Shakeel Ahmad Mian, Additional Secretary Maria Tariq and Secretary Local Government Board were also present on this occasion.

While addressing the meeting, the Minister directed the participants to provide eco-friendly bags free of cost to every house so that the disposal of animal waste could be made easy. He warned that he would make unannounced visits to animal sale points in different cities to assess the provision of facilities.

“The Chief Minister has conveyed instructions about this and there will be no compromise on cleanliness arrangements. Therefore, the senior officers of the local government department should also visit the field,” he added.

Rafique also directed that the municipal staff ensure timely disposal of hides; he also sought an Eid-ul-Azha strategy from every municipal committee in writing and asked the chief officers to display their mobile numbers at prominent places and the sale points.

“A provincial monitoring cell would be established in the Secretary Local Government Office. Moreover, the elected representatives of each area should also be included in the monitoring process. Negligence in cleanliness will not be tolerated during the Eid holidays,” he added.

During the meeting, the Punjab Local Government Secretary said that written instructions have been issued regarding Eid-ul-Azha; all chief officers should ensure the implementation of the plan. “The network of the ‘Suthra Punjab’ programme should also be utilized for cleaning arrangements on Eid-ul-Azha,” he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024