HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry president Saleemuddin Qureshi has called for reversal of business timing restrictions.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, he said two-day closure of business had disappointed traders and businessmen community as they had been already suffering economically. He said business activities had been badly affected due to standard operating procedures (SOPs) in the past several months. Businessmen and traders were suffering for the past one year and the two-day closure would further affect their business badly.

He said that closure of business activities at 6pm would lead to unemployment and complicate economic issues. Businessmen were heading for bankruptcy, he said, adding that indoor dining had been banned and no relief was given in taxes.

The business leader said Ramazan boosted business and trade activities, but restricting business timings from 8am to 6pm and keeping markets and shopping malls closed for two days would have negative implications. He said that consumers would throng markets in the limited timings that would facilitate spread of the coronavirus.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2021