Lea Market hotel owners demand relief package amid coronavirus crisis

Hotel owners in the Lea Market neighbourhoods that are grappling with financial losses during the coronavirus pandemic have demanded of the Sindh government to announce an immediate relief package for them.

In the Lea Market and its surrounding areas in Lyari, there are more than 60 hotels where people – mainly traders, travellers, and patients – not only from Balochsitan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but also from Iran and Afghanistan would stay.

However, since the lockdown came into effect on March 23 in Sindh, hotels are completely closed, causing huge financial losses to the owners. Abdul Haq Mukhlis, a leader of an association of the hotels and shops in the Lea Market, said the hotel industry was largely supported by those who travel, an activity that has been totally restricted in recent weeks due to the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.

“It is not just a business at stake for us; it is our livelihood,” said Mukhlis. He said 80 per cent of the hotels were set up in the rented buildings while the hotel owners had to pay utility bills and salaries to their employees.

He said because of the closure of hotels, other industries linked with them, such as general stores, restaurants, car rental companies, and travel agents, had also been badly affected. “On a daily basis, we are losing tens of thousands of rupees and it is not sill cleared that when will the government allow resuming the industry,” Mukhlis said.

Before the start of the month of Ramazan, he said, they would have a lot of customers every year from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who would travel to Karachi for shopping. But this round, the situation is completely different.

He demanded of the provincial government to announce a relief package not only for the hotel owners but also for the shop owners who have suffered badly because of the lockdown. He also demanded of the government to exempt hotels from the utility bills.