Small restaurants offer dine-in secretly in Lahore

Several seminaries also resume classes

LAHORE: Despite embargo on all kinds of public gathering, several mosques and seminaries have resumed classes and small restaurants have restarted their dine-in operations in various areas of the provincial capital in violation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs), The Express Tribune learnt on Wednesday.

Father of a young student, Muhammad Asif, highlighted that his nine-year-old son, Asad Asif, was learning the Holy Quran by heart from a madrasa in Sector A2 of Township when the government imposed the lockdown because of coronavirus. He was revising at home due to lockdown.

“Last week, his teacher contacted me on mobile phone and asked me to send my son to the madrasa for resuming classes. He insisted that they have made arrangements for social distancing as per the SOPs so parents should send their children for learning the Quran,” he disclosed.

“I discussed it with my wife, who generally looks after the educational matters of all our children. She agreed that if the madrasa has made arrangements for social distancing then there was no harm in sending children there. We sent our son to the madrasa the next day but later when other family members expressed their concern, we discontinued sending him to the madrasa,” he maintained.

However, he indicated, the madrasa is still open and students are attending classes. He said the Qari Sahib believed that no student could contract the infection from the madrasa and It was merely international propaganda to ruin poor nations. Similar reports were also received from other areas of the metropolis because the majority of the population still does not believe the severity of the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Similarly, small restaurants and barbeque shops have opened their dine-in operations by hosting guests on rooftops and in hiding. A survey showed that both citizens and restaurant owners were equal partners in this violation. In several instances, it was witnessed that citizens asked restaurant owners to allow them to sit on the roadside for the meal.

On Haider Road in Township, several small restaurants have started entertaining their guests at rooftops. They switched off lights of their dining area and removed chairs from the roadside but were sending customers to rooftops of their buildings.

Usman Malik, a citizen who was looking for a place for dining, said the government has removed all restrictions. Markets, offices and even public parks have been opened. “We are tired of sitting at home due to lockdown. The government should lift the ban from restaurants so citizens can enjoy their favourite cuisines,” he said.

“My family left home for the first time since the lockdown. We are here to eat tikka and kabab as we believe there is no harm in spending a few hours in open space. I believe the media and the government are giving excessive attention to the coronavirus pandemic and creating panic among people. Otherwise, I have not seen any patient in my family, friends and neighbours,” he said while responding to a question.

Similar remarks were being made by most citizens when the number of coronavirus patients was growing exponentially across the country. The World Health Organisation  has already warned Pakistani authorities to impose strict lockdown for minimum 14 days to arrest the spread of the disease as citizens are not ready to show a responsible attitude.

Meanwhile, Punjab Industries and Trade Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal met representatives of restaurant owners at the PBIT office on Wednesday in which problems arising out of the closure of the businesses due to coronavirus pandemic came under discussion.

The delegation members demanded of the minister to open business activities of the hotel industry as many small businesses and employment of thousands of people are linked with it. They assured the minister of implementation of SOPs issued by the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2020.