Karachi's Zainab market sealed over SOP violation

KARACHI: The district administration Karachi on Wednesday sealed Karachi’s Zainab Market in Saddar, for violating the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the provincial authorities in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, ARY News reported.

Assistant Commissioner Saddar ordered the sealing of the market. He said that the shopkeepers of Zainab Market have violated SOPs by not wearing gloves and masks.

They [shopkeepers] were also violating social distancing norms, added the assistant commissioner.

Moreover, Police also reached the site to help the district administration after they faced difficulty in sealing the market following the protest by traders.

In a statement issued by his office on Monday, Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani had said that no shopkeeper or customer would be allowed inside any market without a mask, stressing that the permission to reopen shops was linked to compliance with the SOPs.

Karachities continued to throng different markets of the metropolis on the third day of the “smart lockdown’ with people largely ignoring the SOPs and social distancing guidelines put forward to stem the spread of the virus.

Earlier on Monday, the Sindh government changed the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for market timings after easing coronavirus lockdown.

An amended notification released by the Sindh home department stated that markets could be opened between morning 6:00 am to 4:00 pm evening under the SOPs. The latest order reduced the timing of business activities for one hour.

It read that businesses will be continued for four days in a week and citizens have been advised not to come out of their homes unnecessarily from 5:00 pm to morning 6:00 am.