Popular eateries sealed in DHA, Clifton over 9pm deadline violation

Trade bodies demand grace period of half-hour to shut shops

KARACHI:

The south district administration, acting on the directives of Deputy Commissioner Captain (retd) Abdul Sattar Issani, arrested 24 persons and sealed several shops for violating business closure timings.

The Saddar assistant commissioner conducted operation in the surrounding markets, including the Saddar Electronic Market and arrested 20 shopkeepers and registered a case against them.

Civil Lines assistant commissioner conducted operation in DHA area and sealed two shops.

During the operation in Clifton and Khada Market areas of DHA, six restaurants including Hot & Spicy, Indus Food, Mirchi 360 were sealed.

Aram Bagh assistant commissioner on Sunday night sealed Agha Saji Restaurant on Burns Road Food Street.

Meanwhile, restaurants and shops in several areas of the city including Hussainabad, Patel Para, Purani Sabzi Mandi, SITE, Banaras, Orangi Town, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Super Highway remained open till late at night.

Trade bodies denounce arrests

The trade organisations in Karachi have criticised the administration's unreasonable strictness in closing city's markets at 9pm and registering FIRs against shopkeepers. They have demanded of the Sindh government to take notice of the matter and stop the administration from making unnecessary arrests and registering FIRs.

Electronics Dealers Association President Muhammad Rizwan Irfan said that electronics dealers in Karachi were detained for minor delays and FIRs were lodged against them. FIRs were registered against more than 20 dealers in the electronic markets of Saddar and Hyderi. This attitude of the management towards the traders of Karachi is highly condemnable.

He said that unreasonable closure of shops and strict measures like registration of FIRs ​​should be avoided.

Karachi's business community has not yet been able to come out of the adverse economic impact of coronavirus and now the inflation and power crisis has put Karachi's trade to another test. Vendors should be given half an hour of grace time. Avoid sealing of shops and registration of FIRs against shopkeepers. The vendors against whom FIRs have been registered should be withdrawn otherwise the traders will be forced to decide their course of action.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2022.