LAHORE: Shopkeepers have acquiesced in the government's directions of closing down shops by 10 pm but with fear of losing their livelihood.
After observing increasing number of Coronavirus cases in Pakistan, especially in big cities, on November 28, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) issued a notification in which it directed all the provinces and Islamabad to ensure closure of all commercial activities, including markets, shopping malls, marriage halls and restaurants at 10 pm from November 29. It also asked the chief secretaries to ensure strict enforcement of wearing masks in public places.
The shops on the Mall Road, by and large, are adhering to the new timings, but not willingly. A shop owner selling suitcases in the Panorama Centre, Nadeem, told this scribe on Saturday that the Centre's committee has issued a circular in which it to follow the government directives of closing shops at 10 pm. "We have no choice, but to follow the committee's decision," he added. "With a heavy heart, we all in the Panorama Centre are closing our shops. During the last lockdown, we suffered huge financial losses. Now we will suffer again. I do not know if the virus exists, but I know this will affect our earning." He saw no point of decreasing the timings by a few hours and believed if there was a threat of the virus then it will disappear after the first winter rains.
A food point owner near the centre also dismissed the idea of limiting the market timing by saying that this will only create more rush in the markets and thus it will kill the purpose of limiting the spread of virus.
"During the normal timings, people come to markets at their convenience, but with the new timing, the people are overcrowding the markets. To make the matter worse, most shoppers do not wear face masks or maintain a distance. The new timings will have an opposite effect, it will spread the virus in the city," said Naveed.
Another shop owner, selling Chinese shoes, said that the entire market is closed at 10 pm; "we have no choice, but to shut the shops."
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020