‘City markets will be closed again if SOPs violated’

The shopkeepers who are not complying with the agreed standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been warned that their shops will be closed if they continued the violation of SOPs, said Sindh Information and Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah.

A handout issued on Thursday quoted the provincial information minister as saying that it was very unfortunate that the business leaders were not fulfilling the promises that they made during their meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Mural Ali Shah.

He said if the Sindh government by taking care of the business community had allowed them to open their businesses, then the traders also had an obligation to keep their promises.

Nasir also appealed to the people to exercise caution during their visits to the markets, adding that, there was a danger of huge losses if they did not follow the SOPs.

The minister said the coronavirus threat was not over yet and, instead, the number of infected people had been increasing since after the lockdown had been eased. "It's a contagious disease that spreads rapidly from one person to another and if we are not careful, there will be a lot of problems," he said.

Nasir said if the shopkeepers and the customers did not take precautionary measures, it would be difficult for the government to continue with “the partial or the soft lockdown”. The minister said the public and the traders should not force the government to reimpose a full lockdown due to their reckless behaviour.

The Sindh government wanted the businesses to continue and the people to get maximum facilities, but in this regard, the government needed the full cooperation of the business community and the public, he added.

After receiving the financial relief from the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank and G20, it was the duty of the federal government to create facilities for the public, he said.

Nasir said that at present there was a serious problem of food security all over the world, while the exports were also declining and the business community was struggling. The federal government should consider and see that in such a situation what possible relief could be provided to the people, he said.

He said the federal government would have to take positive and practical steps to ensure food security. The federal government had announced the agricultural package but it did not implement it, he said.

He said Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also urged the federal government to provide relief to all provinces. The minister said if the federal government had taken effective measures, they could have controlled the rapid spread of the coronavirus in a better way. He said small businessmen and shopkeepers would have to be given financial relief.

Nasir said the Sindh government through its Coronavirus Relief Ordinance wanted to provide relief to the poor in school fees as well as in utility bills.

He said this was the time when “we should support each other instead of criticising one another”.

“If we worked together, it would be possible to get rid of the coronavirus pandemic soon, otherwise everyone would suffer. Now it's our choice to either get rid of the pandemic together or to deal with the damage that can't be remedied soon," he said.