Marriage halls ordered to close by 11pm in Karachi

Karachi administration threatens to seal venue on failure to comply

KARACHI: The city administration decided on Thursday that the closing time for marriage halls will be 11pm.

According to a statement, the decision was made at a meeting chaired by Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani to counter problems caused by late night wedding programmes. A campaign will be initiated to ensure the marriage halls are closed by 11pm.

For the decision to be implemented, all the relevant departments will be made the part of the campaign. The halls and lawns will be sealed if the venues are not closed by 11pm.



Shallwani appealed to the citizens to cooperate with the agencies as the decision was being taken in the best interests of the public. He said that marriage halls owners and organisers should take the decision as a warning.

The meeting also decided to ensure special arrangements for the smooth traffic flow around the marriage halls.

Deputy Commissioner (Central) Farhan Ghani, Additional Deputy Commissioners of different districts, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) West, senior police officers, municipal officers, cantonment boards' officers and others attended the meeting.

Heavy vehicles

The city administration on Wednesday decided to devised a comprehensive action plan to address the issues of heavy vehicles. All the related departments and transporters will be taken on board, Shallwani had said.

According to a statement, the commissioner further said that the recommendations of all the stakeholders would be included in the plan which would then be presented before the Sindh High Court at the next hearing.

Shallwani said that the consultation process with the concerned stakeholders had already started.

The meeting also reviewed measures taken to mitigate traffic jams in the city. The commissioner said that due to illegal bus stands, that have been constructed in various areas, and plying of heavy vehicles in the city the traffic-related issues have increased. It was decided to shift the illegal bus stands outside the city for which arrangements would be made on a priority basis.



The meeting discussed the steps to shift the oil tankers parked in Shireen Jinnah Colony to Zulfiqarabad Oil Terminal. They urged the owners of oil tankers and oil companies to play their role in making the terminal a success. It was agreed that South deputy commissioner and Traffic SSP would take action against these tankers.

Traffic Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Javed Ali Mahar, deputy and additional deputy commissioners, officers of transport department, Pakistan Railways, Karachi Port Trust and representatives of transport owners associations, oil companies and others attended the meeting on Wednesday.

With additional input from APP 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2019.