The Sindh government has imposed a ban on indoor activities in wake of the second wave of deadly Covid-19 till January 31, 2021.
Marriages are allowed at outdoor places and the number of attendees must be up to 200 while the timing bar is 9pm. The interior department has issued the directives allowing the restaurants to serve at such events. However, the restaurants have to be closed down by 10pm.
From 6am to 6pm business activities are allowed while the government said that indoor event places like cinemas, gyms theatres and gyms will remain closed. All business points will remain closed completely on Fridays and Sundays while shops selling essential items will be allowed to open.
Earlier in the months, wedding hall owners rejected the National Command and Operation Centre's (NCOC) decision of banning indoor weddings, saying that they could not shut down their venues as they had collected advance payments for bookings.
Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on November 15, Marriage Hall Owners Association President Rana Raees and other office-bearers said Federal Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Minister Asad Umar was acting against the policies of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had opposed the closure of businesses.
"We had approached the authorities on the matter earlier but no one responded to us properly, which is why we have decided to keep the halls functioning," said Raees, pointing out that there was no ban on processions and shopping malls and claiming that restrictions were only being imposed on wedding halls. The owners were of the view that they just started to recover from the losses they had faced during the preview lockdown.