Several essential services exempted from travel curbs

IGP issues revised directives for enforcement of Section 144

LAHORE: The inspector general of Punjab Police (IGP) has issued revised directives to the regional and district police chiefs for implementation of restrictions under Section 144 during partial lockdown, allowing travel by only one person on a private vehicle till April 14.

The instructions include complete closure of markets, shopping malls, restaurants, and public and private offices. They also call for disallowing every kind of gathering, including social and religious, as well as intra-city, inter-district and inter-provincial traffic.

The orders granted exemption to the government servants on duty after verification by the deputy commissioners and district police officers concerned, employees of the health department, those serving in hospitals, clinics, laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and medical stores, officials of law enforcement agencies, the employees serving in offices related to necessary and important work or services, two persons travelling along with a patient, rituals that cannot be avoided like funeral prayers and burial, persons going out in their localities for food, and utility companies like the Water and Sanitation Agency, municipal services, power distribution companies and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines.



Additionally, those exempted include officials engaged field formations of irrigation department and dam operations, the verified staff of foreign consulates, fertiliser companies and their marketing staff, those engaged with pharmaceutical companies and allied departments like printing, packing, master cotton industry, the Fauji Fertilisers Company Limited (FFCL) and Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL) and the contractors of these companies, call centres  with half of their staff, highly important bank staff, companies affiliated with toll and packing facility for defence production, all the companies and their offices engaged in food production and distribution, shops of eatable items, general and karyana stores, bakeries, milk, chicken, meat, fish, fruit, vegetable shops, tandoor, auto workshops, petrol pumps and oil depots, dry ports operations and customs services, seed, fertilisers, spray, agriculture items, cattle feed shops, workshops and shops dealing with tractor manufacturing, dealers, spare parts and agricultural machinery.

Welfare organisations like Edhi and Sailani Trust and other registered organisations that provide essential services like free food, media persons certified from information department and the hawkers, those engaged in provision and manufacturing of self-hygiene products like soaps, disinfectant, hand-sansitisers, tissue papers, anti-germs liquid, staff engaged in preparation and provision of packing material for wheat, LPG shops, storage and filling plants, postal and courier offices, departments dealing with microfinance with minimum staff, those involved in processing, provision and packing of all forms of milk and food items, activities related to the 10 billion tree tsunami programme, soda ash industries and cement manufacturing staff have also been exempted from the restrictions.

All other shops permitted to operate will open till 5pm, but milk shops are allowed to remain open till 8pm. Only takeaway from restaurants is allowed. People enjoying travel exemptions must carry their Computerised National Identity Cards (CNIC).

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2020.