Lahore: The Punjab government on Tuesday announced that it would likely keep the restaurants and marriage halls in the province closed for another two months, a news source reported. The provincial government hinted at reopening the venues in September.
To this effect, Punjab Minister for Industries Mian Aslam Iqbal stated that the provincial executive would allow wedding halls and restaurants to operate in September subject to the coronavirus situation in the province. He explained that the National Command & Operation Centre (NCOC) would take the final decision on this matter.
Meanwhile, marriage hall owners have highlighted the problems they have been facing during the pandemic and lockdowns. They also emphasised that many sectors associated with the wedding industry were also suffering.
In response, Iqbal said that the government was aware of these problems and he would raise the issues in the upcoming NCOC meeting. He added that reopening all sectors would also help the government with collection of taxes but many industries have remained shut to maintain control on the virus outbreak.
