Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday visited Punjab’s Lodhran district where he distributed cheques among farmers as part of the govt’s Kissan package initiative.
He also announced a Rs2 billion development package for the district.
Speaking after the cheque distribution ceremony, the prime minister said that the prosperity of Pakistan was closely linked to the prosperity of its farmers. He said that the Kisaan Package was an unprecedented financial support package to farmers in the country’s 68-year history.
He said that his government was taking measures to facilitate farmers and had reduced the prices of diesel and electricity rates for them to help them lessen their production cost. Sharif said that, despite resource constraints, his government had announced the Kisaan Package worth Rs 341 billion for the uplift of the country’s farmers.
Taking a swipe at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Sharif said that everyone was aware who blocked implementation of the Kissan package. He said that there were people who claimed to be friends of the farmers but would stop us from carrying out work for the farming community.
He said that Lodhran was a stronghold of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) and that he would always remember the love they expressed for the party in the elections.
Sharif said that he had intended to start distribution of cheques from the Kissan package within a week of its announcement on Sept 15, but those who did not want the farmers to become self-sufficient he halted the launch of the package.
The prime minister announced that the farmers of Lodhran, who had cultivated cotton on 168,536 acres and rice on 5,695 acres of land in the district, would get Rs 87 million as financial support. He also announced the establishment of an agriculture university and construction of two flyovers in Lodhran.
He added that development projects worth Rs 2.5 billion would be carried out in Lodhran instead of an earlier decided amount of Rs 2 billion.
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