LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry has supported the hotels & restaurants owners’ point of view and demanded immediate opening of outdoor dining under strict compliance of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The demand was raised at an emergent joint press conference at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah, representatives of the hotels & restaurants sector Asad Ullah Khan Niazi, Amir Qureshi, Ahmad Shafiq, Raza Ahmad and M Adeel also spoke on the occasion and presented their demands.
“Hotels and restaurants are opened in other provinces and this sector is being targeted only in Punjab,” they said and demanded the government to allow resumption of businesses immediately as prolonged lockdown has already caused irreparable loss. They said that 40 percent restaurants have already been closed during first wave of COVID-19 left over one million people jobless. “Why the government do not take stakeholders on board while taking such decisions,” they questioned and said that sudden closure of hotels and restaurants would again cause huge loss to this sector while perishable items worth of millions have been destroyed.
They said that closure of restaurants has not only put investment of billions of rupees on stake but has also rendered millions of employees jobless and they are facing starvation. This would also jack up the rate of street crimes. He said that dozens of other industries including poultry, fruits & vegetables and grocery stores, are also associated with the hotels and restaurants sector and these would also be affected badly.
“Hundreds of restaurants have been closed, which cost jobs of thousands of daily-wage earners and labourers besides loss to the national exchequer,” they said and added that government has allowed various other businesses but these businesses are kept closed.
They said that hotels and restaurants owners following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to contain coronavirus. This is one of the most important sectors but still has not got the status of industry, they added.
LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah said that the LCCI is well aware of the miseries of traders and has already taken up these issues at highest level.
He said that a number of countries have already opened hotel industry. “Now we have to live with coronavirus like various other diseases therefore government should manage and open the businesses.
The coronavirus has already caused a huge loss and country cannot bear more. People should take safety measures by themselves, not only to
save their lives but for further ease in lockdown,” he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021