KARACHI: Exactly a week after the reduction of business hours in line with the federal government’s plan to take measures to conserve energy, the Sindh government on Friday relaxed some curbs by extending business hours for eateries and allowing all types of commercial activities on Saturdays without any check on timings.

A notification issued by the Sindh home department stated that all restaurants, coffee/tea shops and cafes could operate by 11.30pm throughout the week.

Similarly, it added that there would be “no specific closing hours for Saturdays” for all business, which were put under time restriction in the previous notification.

Last week, the provincial government had placed new curbs on operation of all commercial ventures, including shops, markets, malls, wedding halls, banquets and eateries to minimise the impact of energy shortfall in the country.

The restrictions were imposed for at least a month. Sindh had issued a notification with separate timings for commercial operations in three categories of businesses.

According to the previous notification, shops, markets, bazaars, and shopping malls were asked to close their businesses by 9pm.

Medical stores, pharmacies, hospitals, petrol pumps, CNG stations, bakeries and milk shops, however, were however exempted.

Second category included wedding halls, banquets and venues hosting marriage-related ceremonies. All such concerns had to close by 10.30pm. However, for the third category that includes hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and cafes, the closure time was fixed at 11pm.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2022