PESHAWAR: The owners and workers of wedding halls on Monday demonstrated against the ban on holding of functions, and demanded of the government to lift the restrictions in order to protect their families from starvation.

The protesters, who gathered outside the Peshawar Press Club, were led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Banquet Halls Association representative Khan Gul.

Holding banners and placards, the protesters said the marriage halls had been shut for the past four months due to Covid-19 pandemic, but the government did not announce any financial relief for the workers and owners.

Talking to mediapersons, Gul Khan said there were about 600 wedding halls with about 100 people associated with each hall to earn livelihood for their families.

He said in case of further closure of the halls thousands of people would lose jobs.

He said the owners were no longer in a position to pay wages to workers.

Gul Khan complained the government had permitted other sectors to reopen, but restaurants, wedding halls and schools were still kept closed. The owners of marriage halls, he said would follow SOPs if allowed to reopen.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2020