FAISALABAD: It seems the district administration is finding it difficult to restrain the marriage hall owners from [habitually] violating one dish at functions as they are offering packages of multiple dishes with impunity.

Majority of the hall owners on Canal Road are violating the one-dish restriction as rich families used to organise marriage functions in such halls with dishes of their choice. However, not a single hall on Canal Road has been sealed reportedly due to ‘political pressure.’

The hall owners are booking marriage functions with a restriction for the host that he has to pay the fine in case of raid during the event. The hall owners do not take responsibility for the food being seized by the government officials during the raids and such officials know how the assorted dishes of seized food are being dumped.

Scores of wedding halls have been set up on Canal Road, Ismail Road, Millat Road, Jhang Road, and other localities of Faisalabad district who are offering different food packages. The administration is well aware that such packages are being offered by the hall owners which are clearly against the government rules as only one dish is allowed.

Hassam Ahmed, a social activist, said now the hall owners had been getting the fine amount from the host while booking the order. He said a couple of days ago he had attended a marriage at a hall on Canal Road and found that multiple dishes were served there, however, no action had been taken.

Host being told to pay fine in case of raid

He said the hall owners would clearly ask the host that he would have to pay the amount of fine to be imposed by the district administration in case of raid to which they agreed.

Abdul Hameed, whose one of the relatives is holding a marriage hall, told Dawn that hall owners did not earn a ‘considerable’ profit if they would go for the single dish. He said with packages of multiple dishes the profit margin increased.

He said it was fault of the administration who was just imposing a minor fine on the hall owners rather to go for the closure of ‘habitual’ violators for some fixed period. During the wedding season, he said the hall owners could not afford closure of their premises and ultimately the government would succeed to control the menace.

An official said: “We have proofs that multiple dishes being offered at the wedding were seized and fines imposed even on the halls belonging to some influential persons.”

He said closure of a hall for two weeks or one month would be the best solution to curb the practice.

When contacted, Commissioner Ishrat Ali did not reply even after reading message on the WhatsApp number.

A spokesman of the district administration said since Sept 1 as many as 1,056 inspections of the marriage halls had been carried out in City, Saddar, Jaranwala, Tandlianwala, Samundri and Chak Jhumra and 322 violations were detected.

He said 327 cases had been registered including 173 against city areas halls, 129 Saddar, seven of Jaranwala, five of Tandlianwala, four of Samundri and nine of Chak Jhumrah area halls. As many as 346 suspects were taken into custody and some of the hall owners managed their escape.

He said three halls including Laraib on Millat Road, Khayam of Iqbal Stadium and Paradise on Daewoo Road were sealed. Such halls remained sealed for one day as the hall owners got relief from the courts.

To a question why no hall on Canal Road was sealed, the spokesman did not reply. He said the administration had no authority to impose fine on the violators as the power lay with the court.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2020