Daily Times

Attock: On Thursday, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Dr. Sania Nishtar announced that the SMS Registration Service of 8171 will open from Friday for the intending beneficiaries to register for the Ehsaas Rashan Riayat program.

Talking to the media during her visit to the Kiryana stores in Fateh Jang, Dr. Sania said that the registration process for the eligible households and grocery merchants under the Ehsaas Rashan Riayat program continued across the country through the web portal while SMS service of 8171 to register the eligible buyers will open from tomorrow.

The overall subsidy of Rs. 1000 is being given to the eligible people on flour, pulses and cooking oil or ghee through this program which is being implemented on fast track basis to provide relief to the citizens as per directives of the Prime Minister, Imran Khan.

The subsidy of Rs. 22 per kg is being given on flour, Rs.55 per kg on pulses and Rs. 105 per liter of cooking oil or ghee at the designated grocery stores. Dr. Sania emphasized that it is mandatory for both the buyer and grocery merchants to have mobile SIMs are issued on their own Computerized National Identity Cards to register for this program.

It is also necessary for the Kiryana merchants to have their accounts opened in the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) as well as have smartphones.

Dr. Sania said that the Kiryana merchants are enthusiastically participating in the registration process in a large number. The SMS service of 8171 will enable maximum people (buyers) to register for the program by sending their CNIC number on 8171 through SMS. “If their mobile number is not registered with their CNICs, they will receive a message to register their SIMs first”.

To a question, Dr. Sania said that Kiryana merchants belonging to any city, village, union council, or any far-flung area will be able to download the app on their mobile phone and get register for this program after the scrutiny process.

Responding to the media, Dr. Sania said that the purpose of her visits to the small Kiryana stores was to educate the Kiryana merchants about the program and respond to their queries. She said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed to ensure transparency and merit in the implementation of this program.

“We are doing our utmost efforts to ensure transparency in this program at every level”, she added. “We are in an effort of completing the registration process of this program at our earliest to provide relief to the citizens”, she said.

The subsidy will be directly provided to the grocery merchants in their bank accounts. The merchants will also be given commission while luck draw will also be held after every three months to give them gifts like mobile phones, motorcycles, etc, she said.