‘Punjab government unilaterally banned functions after 10pm’

[Naveed Yaseen]

LAHORE: The Punjab government did not take all stakeholders on board when it decided to ban functions after 10pm and made a one-sided decision, banquet hall owners, caterers and decorators told Daily Times on Monday. All marriage halls in the city have refused to accept the ban, saying it would ruin their businesses. They said the government had taken an illogical decision by decreasing the ending time of functions from 12am to 10pm. The CDGL had earlier announced they would allow marriage halls and caterers to hold functions until 12am, but last week the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution restricting all functions to end at 10pm. They said they had met with Punjab government representatives “but in all the meetings our apprehensions and objections were not addressed and the government announced a one-sided decision”. Marriage Hall Association (MHA) President Muhammad Ilyas said he had met with PML-N leaders and Punjab MPAs, and had criticised their decision each time “but no one was ready to listen or address the association’s concerns”. “They took the decision only to please their bosses,” he said, adding the association would not accept the government’s decision if its grievances were not addressed. He said marriage hall owners had decided not to close their businesses before 11pm. “The time of the last function would be from 8pm to 11pm,” he said. “Most people attend weddings after coming back from their businesses and offices, which remain open until 7pm. This decision makes it impossible for people to enjoy the functions,” he added. nauman tasleem

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg13_6