Sindh CM says they will allow construction sites on directives of PM but will not allow those who fail to follow the rules to control spread of Coronavirus.
KARACHI: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-April 15th, 2020) Sidh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah came down hard upon the Prime Minister’s decision of opening construction sector amid fears of Coroanvirus here on Wednesday.
“We cannot understand that why construction sector is being opened at the moment,” said the Chief Minister while referring to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision for Construction industry.
He said that there was there might be need for stricter implementation of the lockdown in the coming days, adding that they conveyed to the Federal government for imposing strict measures to control spread of Coronavirus.
The CM said that they were opening construction sites on directives of the PM but said that they would allow these sites only if they followed the SOPs. “The workers aged more than 55 years will not be allowed to enter construction sites as per the guidelines,” said Murad Ali Shah, adding that there would be different shits for the workers to ensure that no workplace was overcrowded at any time of the day. He stated that the federal and the provincial governments were not agree on some important issues which could damage the national strategy to control spread of the global pandemic in the country.
“The lockdown was extended for another two weeks during the yesterday’s meeting but federal and provincial governments are not agree on some issues,” said Murad Ali Shah, adding that they needed uniform policy to deal with this situation.
“We didn’t agree to open shops for barbers, plumbers and electricians etc but some provinces and the federal government agreed to reopen some important workplaces,” he further said. The plumbers and electricians who were involved in travelling to homes to provide services should be provided subject to their appliance to the guidelines of the federal government.
“We all agreed to restart the automobile sector and domestic flights with the implementation of decided SOPs. We, however, suggested that the federal government wait for another two weeks before resuming domestic flight operations,” he said. We also agreed on the reopening of export-related industries, he added.
Talking about an announcement by religious leaders and traders that they would no longer abide by lockdown guidelines, the chief minister said: “We will facilitate ulema and traders in this regard by meeting them and keeping them in the loop for all discussions. I would like to thank the ulema and traders for cooperating with us so far.
“I would also request everyone to cooperate and extend their support by staying at home for the next two weeks. I repeat: please be careful with the elderly people in your family. For their safety, limit your interactions with them and avoid exposing them to the virus,” he said.
“I would like to apologise for the confusion created by the numbers and outdated district information. We are trying our level best to take measures with the information we have in hand.”
