Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali shah, keeping in view the COVID-19 threat, has constituted a committee of health experts, labour and industries department secretaries and representatives of Police and Rangers to prepare Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs) for factories so that could be allowed to start operation.
He took this decision on Sunday while presiding over a meeting to review the request of the industrialists to allow their units to start operation to meet the export orders.
The meeting was attended by ministers, Dr Azra Pechuho, Saeed Ghani, Ikram Dharejo, Nasir Shah, Advisor Law Murtaza Wahab, IG Sindh Mushtaq Maher, PSCM Sajid Jamal Abro, Home Secretary Usman Chachar, Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shahalwani, Addl IG Karachi Ghulam Nabi Memon, Secretary Labour Rasheed Solangi and others.
The chief minister, at the outset, said that he had held a meeting with the industrialists, particularly those who were producing goods for export and they have requested him to allow the operation of their factories so that they could honour the export orders.
"The request is important and genuine, therefore a way out can be made for them," he said.
After thorough discussion and debate it was decided that an SOP should be worked out for operationalization of the factories. The chief minister directed the Additional Chief Secretary Home to form a committee comprising medical professionals/experts, industries and labour secretaries, senior members of law enforcement agencies and other concerned to prepare a well-thought and workable SOP for operationalisation of the factories.
The chief secretary directed ACS home to issue notification for the committee and ask them to take the industrialists on board and frame SOP. "I want SOP for every sectors, including shops, bakeries, transport, super store, malls and even for holy month of Ramazan be framed so that after April 14, if lockdown is ease of that SOP(s) will be mandatory to follow," he said.
Shah said that he was also wanted to allow export-based industry to start operation but this was the question of human health and containment of novel virus, therefore we would have to be careful.
The Home Department would issue a committee for framing the SOP for export-oriented industrial units so that they could be allowed to start operation, the chief minister said. The committee for other sectors, including social and welfare sectors committee for framing the SOPs would be notified latter on.