KP CM wants SOPs developed for reopening wedding halls

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has said the provincial government is taking steps to give maximum relief to all the sectors affected by the prevailing coronavirus situation.

He expressed these views while talking to a delegation of the Wedding Halls Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which called on him at his office on Tuesday, said a handout. The delegation was led by the president of the association Khalid Ayub. Provincial ministers Sultan Muhammad Khan, Akbar Ayub and Shaukat Yousafzai were also present on the occasion.

The members of the delegation discussed with the chief minister the financial issues faced by the owners and workers of the wedding halls and matters related to the possible opening of wedding halls under standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The chief minister said that almost all the sectors have been affected by the pandemic and wedding halls industry being one of them. Mahmood Khan said in the budget of the upcoming financial year, the provincial government had given maximum possible relief to all the sectors, including the wedding halls in the provincial taxes.

The delegation demanded the reopening of wedding halls subject to the implementation of proper SOPs keeping in view the financial crunches faced by the owners and thousands of workers. It demanded that wedding halls may also be given relief in electricity bills as given to other businesses.

The chief minister assured the delegation that their genuine demand for relief in electricity bills would be taken up with Prime Minister Imran khan. Regarding the possible reopening of wedding halls under proper SOPs, Mahmood Khan directed to form a panel headed by provincial minister Sultan Khan to develop SOPs to this end.

The chief minister said when SOPs are finalized the issue would be tabled in the next meeting of National Coordination Committee to be chaired by the prime minister, a final decision to reopen the wedding halls or otherwise will be taken in consultation with the federal government. Members of the delegation assured that if the wedding halls were allowed to be reopened under the SOPs, they will ensure strict implementation of the SOPs in those wedding halls.