KOHAT: Despite ban on gatherings, wedding functions are being held inside homes and on the open plots in the Kohat district.

A wedding function was held on an open plot in the KDA town late on Sunday night, but the police took no action.

Meanwhile, the city police arrested the owner of a tikka house for serving food to people.

On the other hand, the police have been deployed at a house where an inmate collapsed the other day. He was taken to the KDA Teaching Hospital.

Meanwhile, adviser to the chief minister on information technology, MPA Ziaullah Bangash and secretary general of the PTI southern districts’ labour wing Waseem Amjum Shinwari have appealed to the people to postpone the wedding functions amid the coronavirus threat.

In social media messages, they asked the party’s office-bearers at the district and tehsil levels to spread awareness among the people about the precautionary measures against the virus. They regretted that some shopkeepers were resisting lockdown and requested them to cooperate with the authorities.

Mr Bangash said the cities had been locked down to control the spread of the virus

FACE MASKS: The focal person and deputy superintendent of the KDA Teaching Hospital, Dr Younis Nadeem, has said the face masks being prepared at homes using cloth can cause allergies.

With the increase in prices of masks and their short supply in the markets the people have started preparing masks using clothes and other materials.

Meanwhile, the thin masks, one can usually get for as low as Rs8, are now being sold for Rs70.

A medical store owner told Dawn that the most effective mask was N-95, which was not available in the market due to its high rates. He said a piece cost Rs1,700.

FOOD FOR THE POOR: The people have started making food deliveries at homes and to the poor and daily wagers after the coronavirus fears affected the routine life.

The government as well as private organisations are preparing lists of deserving people in the city to deliver food items to them.

The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has made Ehsan Ayaz, PRO of the chief minister’s adviser Ziaullah Bangash, as the focal person for collecting data of poor from different mohallahs of the city.

Many social organisations are sending money to the mobile accounts of the poor who contact them via Whatsapp.

We have prepared the lists of daily wagers, who will be delivered food items and hard cash, chairman blood donors society Jehanzeb Jani said.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2020