Karachi Eat to go head with no ticket sales at the venue

It's that time of the year again! The time where you should mask up and adhere to the SOPs strictly due to the rise of Covid-19 cases in the country. However, while Karachi's positivity rate reaches 20% in the last 36 hours, the port city’s biggest food festival, Karachi Eat, is still happening from January 14 to 16 at Beach View Park, Clifton.

With a sharp rise in coronavirus cases fuelled by the Omicron variant, many have expressed reservations about organising the event, which will see thousands of attendees. Many took to social media and shared Karachi Eat should be delayed to control the rise in the Covid-19 cases.

Mohsin Ahmed, (Head of PR) at East River, the official agency for Karachi Eat, shared that strict SOPs will be followed in the event. In a statement to The Express Tribune, Ahmed said, "Karachi Eat is cognizant of the prevailing situation in the city, which is why all possible safety precautions have been deployed to ensure a safe and enjoyable festival for all the citizens of Karachi."

The statement further added, "All our vendors have been strictly informed of our protocols and have all agreed to help us in ensuring everyone’s safety." He added that attendees who are willing to buy the tickets at the venue will not be entertained. "We have not only facilitated online tickets but will no longer entertain ticket sales at the venue on Friday the opening day to avoid long queues and unnecessary gatherings."

The statement further read, "Again, we urge everyone attending to make sure you are vaccinated and masked up. There will be a zero-tolerance policy for violations and teams have been deployed at all areas to ensure that SOPs are followed."

What started in 2014 at Frere Hall with a few stalls has now become one of the biggest and most awaited food festivals in the metropolis with a bigger venue and an even bigger number of stalls.

Thousands of foodies flock to the festival each year, offering a diverse range of local and international cuisines and live performances. The experts have warned against holding such events as the Sindh health department reported over 22% coronavirus positivity rate in Karachi.

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