FAISALABAD: Neither social distancing nor SOPs are being maintained at the Clock Tower markets where thousands of people are coming daily to purchase different products.

The most vulnerable market among the eight bazaars is Jhang Bazaar where people, traders and cart-vendors are busy in their businesses without wearing masks and ensuring social distancing.

Traders of Kutchery Bazaar, Rail Bazaar, Montgomery Bazaar, Karkhana Bazaar, Jhang Bazaar, Bhawana Bazaar, Aminpur Bazaar and Chiniot Bazaar have resumed their businesses and some of them have arranged the hand sanitizers for the customers.

Policemen are active to get the shops closed after 5pm but nothing is being done to implement the government instructions.

Parveen Bibi, who was purchasing suits from Arshad Cloth Market, said she had been visiting the market due to pressure of her children who were asking for new dresses for Eid. Neither the lady nor the shopkeeper who was unfurling the fabric dresses before her had worn masks.

She said women didn’t need any sort of mask as they were using the veil. She said she would spend fifty per cent less amount on dresses as compared to last year due to the financial problems her husband had faced due to closure of the business.

Pakistan Medical Association Faisalabad chapter Secretary Dr Muhammad Irfan, an assistant professor of medicine at the Allied Hospital, said the number of coronavirus patients was increasing and lifting the lockdown restrictions would be a bad decision. He said the doctors were not in favour of easing the lockdown as these were peak days of the disease.

One can buy fruits and vegetables from Jhang Bazaar at any time and neither the police nor the district administration are in a position to control the influx of masses in this bazaar and ensure the SOPs.

Some policemen and traffic wardens have been deployed at this bazaar but they cannot maintain the traffic and social distancing due to load of public and their vehicles.

Aslam, a vegetable vendor of Jhang Bazaar, said they had done the business even in ‘strict lockdown’ and they had followed neither restrictions of masks nor any sort of SOPs.

“We are poor fruit and vegetables vendors and can’t afford masks and hand sanitizers. It’s the responsibility of the government to protect the lives of the masses, he said.

A district government official said a couple of days ago, the officials had a meeting with the office-bearers of the traders association to ensure enforcement of the SOPs. He said the traders had promised to follow the SOPs in letter and spirit. However, he said, they were perturbed following the influx of people in different bazaars.

He said we had been monitoring the bazaars closely and could recommend the government to review the policy of easing the lockdown.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2020