Staff Reporter
Over 300 caterers, decorators, valet parking employees and wedding photographers staged a protest Sunday morning at Five Star Chowrangi against the closure of wedding halls in Karachi.
The protesters made garlands out of naan and roti and wore them to protest against the government. They said that due to the lockdown, their families have been forced to starve.
The protesters have warned that if the government does not announce the reopening of wedding halls by July 3, they will take things into their own hands and resume business themselves.
Due to the protests, the road from Five Star Chowrangi to Sakhi Hassan has been completely blocked. The protesters are only allowing ambulances to pass.
The police have reached the site but negotiations have so far been unsuccessful.
All public places including wedding halls across the country have been closed due to the novel coronavirus spread. Pakistan has reported more than 200,000 cases so far.
Meanwhile, They said that in case the government does not allow the opening of marriage halls, then it should return back one year’s tax to the hall owners and provide funds for the salaries of the staff working in the marriage halls as 4.2 million people were suffering due to the closure of marriage halls.
The association demanded that the gas and electricity bills should be waived off for the period they had remained closed as they had no source of earning.
