During the holy month of Ramadan, a distressing incident unfolded in Lahore as numerous ration bags designated for deserving families under the Punjab government’s Ramadan Nigehban Relief Package were plundered.
The chaos erupted when a truck carrying the ration bags arrived at Chuhng area of Lahore to distribute the relief hampers among those in need.
The Punjab cabinet, led by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, had recently sanctioned the relief package for 2024, aiming to distribute over 6.5 million relief hampers directly to deserving individuals at their residences. Each hamper was stocked with essential items like a 10 kg bag of flour, 2 kg of rice, sugar, edible oil, and chickpea flour (besan).
Disturbing footage captured people scrambling and fighting over the ration bags, resorting to looting them from the truck. The situation escalated into a stampede as a large crowd of individuals, affected by inflation, converged around the truck, attempting to seize the hampers forcefully.
Authorities reported that a case had been filed against 12 unidentified individuals based on a complaint lodged by Patwari Asghar. These individuals face charges including theft and interference in government affairs.
Last year in Karachi, a stampede at a Ramadan food distribution center resulted in the tragic deaths of 11 people, predominantly women and children, along with numerous injuries, as panicked crowds surged while vying for food supplies outside a factory.