KARACHI: Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Sindh government decided that shops and markets in the region will remain open from 6am to 4pm, four times a week. This decision proved to be quite effective as the spread rate of Covid-19 did not rise so much after that, but at the same time, the traders of the region are not quite happy with this decision.
The Traders Association of Sindh has demanded that shops should be allowed to remain open from Iftar time till midnight. They announced that they will not obey any decision of the Sindh government. Even the government’s negotiation with the traders last night ended in a halt.
Speaking to the reporters after last night’s meeting, All Karachi Tajir Ittehad Chairman Atiq Mir said that traders would open their shops till midnight even if the government had them arrested. “We have a right to earn enough for a two-time meal till Chand Raat,” he said. Now traders will do business 24 hours till Chand Raat, he added.
The traders complained that the traders in Sindh were restricted from most of the things which traders from other provinces weren’t. They demanded that shopping malls should be allowed to open in Sindh, as the Punjab government has also allowed shopping malls to open from Monday.
The traders, while talking to the media, said that first the government did not let us open any of our shops for three weeks due to the lockdown. Now, when the lockdown has eased, they have put so many restrictions on us. The government has taken a U-turn from its promises. The traders further said that they have bear too much loss due to the steps taken to stop covid-19, and that they cannot afford any further losses now.
The Sindh government has refused to allow the reopening of public transport. Even the shopping malls and big markets are not allowed to open to control the spread of coronavirus in the province.
Other provinces such as Punjab and KPK have eased restrictions. Shopping malls and big markets have been allowed to open, keeping the SOPs in view.
Right now, Sindh is the hardest hit province with more than 16,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases and about 250 deaths. Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases has reached 42,125 with over 903 deaths (7%). The number of recovered patients is 11,922 (93%).
