RAWALPINDI: Local restaurants and eateries in Rawalpindi on Saturday demanded permission to run takeaway services.

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Rawalpindi, comprising 800 food outlets, also demanded that the government should utilise the social security and Employees Old-age Benefit Institution (EOBI) contributions of the employees to pay them wages till the hotels and restaurants reopen.

Sheikh Abdul Waheed, the president of the association, told a press conference in Rawalpindi that 50,000 employees working in different restaurants in Rawalpindi were directly affected by the lockdown. Around 100,000 people, including suppliers of food items, vendors and others are also being affected indirectly.

He said the government had allowed takeaway services from 12 noon to 5pm but it was not enough time in which meals could be prepared and served to takeaway customers.

Moreover, restaurants could not even reach the break-even and meet their expenses in such a short span of time in a particular day.

Chaudhry Mohammad Farooq, the information secretary of the association, said the restaurants were providing entry level jobs to educated and semi-educated people.

He said the sudden shutdown of restaurants had put the jobs of thousands of people at stake. When the owners have themselves become jobless how could they pay wages to their employees.

He said the association was ready to give undertaking to the government to implement the social distancing policy and ensure cleanliness, hygiene and measures to disinfect their premises.

He said hotels and restaurants were contributing to the national economy in the form of taxes and would be ready to play their role.

“But we request the government to consider our demands in a positive way and give some relief to us in the form of tax relaxation till the situation normalises,” he added.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2020