Punjab mulls over increasing business hours

LAHORE: The Punjab government is considering increasing business hours of markets and shopping malls following the consistent demand from the traders community for the last week of Ramazan ahead of Eid.

The traders community is demanding the government allow 24 hours business for the last days of Ramazan ahead of Eid in order to reduce the pressure from the shopping centres and markets due to limited business hours.

The Punjab government will take up the issues of increasing the business hours of the shopping malls and markets in the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) meeting on Tuesday (today).

It is expected that the business hours would be increased to 10:00 pm or 12:00 midnight. However, different proposals are being discussed as the shopping centres, chain stores, mega malls and Eid related markets are asking for 24 hours business while the wholesale markets are asking for increasing the time to 10:00pm only for the remaining days until Eid.

Further, the Supreme Court has also allowed the opening of the shopping centres and markets on Saturday and Sunday following the traders’ writ in the Apex court. Earlier, the governmentpermitted opening of the shopping centres and markets for the four days of the week from morning until 5pm. However, the culture and habits of the traders of late opening of markets has virtually reduced the business hours. Majority of the city markets starting business around 10am to 12:00 noon while they have to close the markets and shops by 5pm. Due to further reduced business hours influx of the buyers and rush has increased in the shopping centres and markets, besides non observation of decided and agreed SOPs by the shoppers and traders in the markets due to limited business hours and rush.

Meanwhile, Punjab Minister for Industries and Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal on Monday visited Karim Market, Allama Iqbal Town to observe implementation of the SOPs and lamented on seeing the violations. He deplored that the buyers and traders were not following the SOPs which were for their safety and protection. Further, he lamented that buyers were still bringing the kids and elderly people in the markets which were very dangerous. He also observed that even shopkeepers were not using face masks at their shops while no sanitizer was placed in the markets for hand sanitization.

The minister stressed that the war against corona could not be won without the people’s support while every segment of the society had to pay its role in curbing spread of covid-19 by following precautionary SOPs.

Aslam Iqbal said that the government honoured the Supreme Court decision of opening of the markets and shopping malls. However, a meeting is called to review the decision of the court and how to implement on it. Further, he said that the government had opened the public transport after consultation with the transporters while fares were reduced after substantial reduction in petroleum prices. He said the government was aware of the public issues and taking all steps to resolve them.

Earlier, in a meeting with the traders at Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT), the minister said that implementation of SOPs was not difficult rather the commitment was required from the traders and public. He assured the traders that the issue of increasing the business hours of the markets and shopping malls would be taken up with the federal government in the next meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) headed by the federal minister Asad Umar. He asked the traders for not entreating the shoppers who did not follow the SOPs by bringing kids or elderly people, not wearing mask. He asked the traders for providing the masks to the buyers who were not wearing masks in the markets.