Special Assistant to Chief Minister for Culture and Tourism Sharmila Farooqui said on Tuesday that the Sindh Culture Department will distribute a sum of Rs 7.85 among 92 needy writers, poets and artists through the endowment fund.
Chairing the 16th meeting of the Management Board of Endowment Fund for needy writers, poets and artists at Directorate Culture Karachi, Farooqui appealed to the artists, writers and poets to submit their prescribed pro-forma with complete necessary documents and proofs so that their cases could be considered positively.
She said that the Culture Department was the custodian of the endowment fund of artists and it was bound to maintain transparency. She also said that any advice or suggestion for the betterment of this system would be accepted with open heart.
The meeting was attended by Culture Secretary Dr Niaz Ali Abbasi, Culture DG Manzoor Kanasro and other members of the management board including Abdul Hameed Sindhi, Sarfaraz Rajar, Naseer Baig, Mazhar Jameel, Haseena Moin and Shakeel Ahmed.
The board scrutinises the applications received by the Culture Department from needy and poor artists, writers and poets from all over Sindh.
Official statistics said that a total of 139 applications of artists and poets were received by the Culture Department. Of these requests, 92 have been approved. The beneficiaries include Azhar Ali Bhanbhan, Khalid Mehmood, Shazia Bhatti, Hasina Bibi, Intizaar Ahmed, Abdul Wahid Alias Chatoli, Razia Begum, Imtiaaz Adil, Shabana Usman, Jabeen Fareed and Asif Mehdi.
