Industrialists will undertake to follow lockdown SOPs before starting businesses

The industrialists in Sindh will have to formally submit an undertaking that they will fully adhere to the prescribed standard operating procedures (SOPs) in order to obtain permission from the Sindh government to open their industries during the extended period of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Sindh Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah stated this on Wednesday as he met a delegation of industrialists based in Karachi. Sindh Industries Minister Jam Ikramullah Dharejo was also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the Sindh chief secretary said the industrialists already knew about many precautionary measures that had to be taken for the safety of their employees but the SOPs to be adopted by them during the lockdown period would be a lot different from their standard precautionary measures.

Shah said the industries would be allowed to resume operations once they fully demonstrated implementation of the SOPs related to the COVID-19 lockdown.

He said the novel coronavirus was a serious epidemic as the cure to this disease was yet to be found and only due observance of precautions would help a person remain safe from the contagious ailment.

The chief secretary conceded that the closure of industries was a difficult decision for the government but such a step had become mandatory in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. The Sindh industries minister said the industrialists would have to submit applications through an online process for reopening their industrial units as afterwards inspection would be conducted to verify the implementation of the lockdown SOPs.

He said that once inspections were carried out, the government would grant permission to them within 24 hours for opening their industries. The industrialists said they had earlier supported the government’s decision to impose the lockdown in order to protect human lives. They added that in the next step, the government should grant permission for reopening of the wholesale markets. The also called for granting permission to the industries for carrying out e-commerce activities.