Small traders request opening of markets thrice a week

Small traders of Karachi on Thursday requested that the Sindh government allow them to open markets for a limited number of hours thrice a week in accordance with the social distancing and hygiene guidelines, because they said that keeping their businesses closed during the COVID-19 lockdown was no more feasible for them.

The request came on Thursday as office-bearers of different representative associations of small traders met senior officials of the provincial administration at the Sindh Secretariat. The representatives of small traders said that business activities needed to be revived in Karachi in a limited manner at the earliest for the sake of the livelihoods of hundreds of people employed at the markets across the city.

Jameel Ahmed Piracha, one of the representatives, said that it was high time that the government came up with standard operating procedures (SOPs) for opening markets in the city for a few hours.

Sharjeel Goplani, another representative, lamented that the K-Electric had started disconnecting power supply to the markets in the city in total disregard of the directives of the government in this regard.

He said that such an action of the power company had caused serious hardships to the small traders who were already facing serious economic problems due to the prolonged closure of their businesses.

It has become utterly difficult for small traders to retain the services of their employees, especially after paying them salaries for one month despite the closure of markets, he added.

He also said that traders had been facing a hard time while observing the directives of the government that their employees should not be sacked during the lockdown.

Small traders have run out of resources because they do not have any fiscal means to pay their employees’ salaries, so the government has to provide interest-free loans to the traders, granting them the opportunity to revive their businesses, he added.

Representative Haroon Chand expressed apprehension that any act of robbery could have taken place at the city’s markets because they had been closed for over a month.

Atiq Mir, another representative leader of small traders, expressed serious concerns that the prolonged closure of markets and business activities in the city could result in massive unemployment.

He said employees associated with the markets of the city had started visiting the houses of small businessmen seeking financial assistance, but the traders had no means to support them.

He also said that it was high time that the government demonstrate courage and devise SOPs to revive business activities on a limited scale because small traders were ready to implement the guidelines. Observance of the SOPs is the only way to keep the COVID-19 threat at bay, he added.

He conceded that full-fledged revival of business activities in the city would not be in the interest of anyone, so a strategy should be adopted to revive different business and trade sectors in a gradual manner.

Some of the small traders reiterated that the government provide them the facility of interest-free loans, which would help them keep their businesses shut for another month if the lockdown continued further.

Sindh Education and Labour Minister Saeed Ghani expressed gratitude to the small traders of Karachi who had deferred their decision to reopen the markets in view of the government’s decision to prolong the coronavirus lockdown for another two weeks.

Ghani vowed that he would put the recommendations of the small traders to relax the lockdown regime before the provincial task force working on the COVID-19 situation under the chief minister.

If the need arises, the representatives of small traders will be provided with the opportunity to meet the CM within two days to hold further negotiations on their pressing demands, said the minister.

He said the task force would look into the recommendations of the small traders, such as the revival of different sectors of trade in a gradual way, granting permission to markets to remain open thrice a week, SOPs to be adopted for the purpose and the facility of doing online business.

Ghani said the government was completely focused on the task of tackling the COVID-19 emergency in the province, adding that all the required steps were being taken to prevent local transmission of the viral disease. He also briefed the traders about the government’s efforts to provide rations to them.

In the meeting the government was also represented by CM’s adviser Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani, Additional Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon and the District South deputy commissioner among other officials.

Ismail’s assurance

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail told a delegation of the Karachi Tajir Ittehad at the Governor House that he would talk to the CM to allow small traders to do online business and also about the adoption of SOPs for the revival of their businesses during the continuing lockdown.

Ismail said he had to discuss matters related to small businesses and traders with the province’s chief executive because they had devolved to the provincial government after the adoption of the 18th constitutional amendment.

The governor briefed the delegation on the efforts of the federal government to provide Rs12,000 each to the needy families under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme during the lockdown. He appreciated the cooperation extended by small traders and business persons to observe the lockdown regime against COVID-19.

He said the federal government had been devising a strategy regarding the lockdown after consulting the provincial governments. He also said the government required complete support of each and every stakeholder and sector to fully implement its strategy and steps against the spread of the coronavirus.