KARACHI: Convener of All Pakistan Restaurant Association (APRA) Athar Chawla has urged Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to save the restaurant business from serious financial losses by allowing restaurants to remain open 24 hours a day.

Welcoming the opening of restaurants across the province by Sindh government, he said that the opening hours of the restaurants (till 10pm) were insufficient.

He appealed to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to allow 24-hour opening of restaurants in the province.

Athar Chawla said that as per the notification issued by the Sindh government, all the restaurants in the province would remain open till 10 pm. There will also be dine-in service and orders could be placed until 9pm, while restaurants can remain open until 11pm on Saturdays, and food can be served six days a week until 10pm.

All restaurants will have to comply with the corona precautions and keep a distance of 3 feet between customers.

Restaurants had been strictly following the SOPs. However, unlike other provinces, the Sindh government stipulated that the restaurants closed at 10pm on weekdays whereas there was a need for them to stay open 24 hours a day. He said that the 10pm closing condition had caused concerns among restaurant owners.

Chawla said that due to long lockdowns, the restaurant sector had reached the verge of collapse, and there were apprehensions that billions of rupees of investment would sink.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020