The meeting between Mr. Zubair Baweja, Vice President FPCCI and the members of Karachi Marriage Hall/ Lawn/ Banquet Association was held on July 25, 2020 at Federation House to discuss the ongoing issues faced by Wedding Hall owners due to lockdown restrictions. The meeting was attended by Mr. Rana Raees Ahmed, President; Khawaja M. Tariq, General Secretary and other representatives of Karachi Marriage Hall/ Lawn/ Banquet Association. Around 650,000 daily wage earners in Pakistan have become Jobless due to the closure of Wedding Halls.
Marriage Hall/ Banquets and lawn owners are facing multidimensional challenges due to COVID-19, said by Mr. Zubair Baweja, Vice President- FPCCI. As per statistics provided by Marriage Hall Association, there are almost 800 Marriage Halls in Karachi, 1500 in Sindh and around 13,000 in the all over the country. Mr. Rana Raees Ahmed, President- Karachi Marriage Hall/ Lawn/ Banquet Association raised his concerned over the closure of Marriage Halls which have been closed by Provincial and Federal Government since March 13,2020. He mentioned that almost 50 daily wage earners are associated with one marriage hall on the day of function which means about 50,000 daily wage earners have become jobless on account of lockdown in Karachi only, about 75,000 in Sindh province and about 650,000 in all over the country.
About 50% industries of the country are associated with Marriage Hall Industry such as Catering, Beverage, Live- stock & Poultry, Flour Mills, Sheermal Houses and Tandoors, Furniture, Floral Making and Arrangement, Textile, Beauty Parlors, Jewelers, Bridal Garments, Designer wears Cosmetics, Shoes and Footwear, Crockery, Cutlery, Fabric and Curtain, Electronics and Sound System, Rent a Car, Valet Parking, Sweets and Deserts and so on and so forth.Realizing the above facts and figures, it is well understood that our domestic industry is facing huge turmoil due to the closure of Marriage Halls. On average, local industry is facing the loss of RS 195 billion on monthly basis.
Presenting the ground realities, participants have strongly protested over the prolonged closure of Wedding Halls, Banquets and Lawns and demanded that concerned authorities should take a serious notice of the ongoing situation. Wedding Halls/Lawns and Banquets should be reopened like many other businesses that have already opened under standard operating procedures (SOPs).
