Markets to remain open till midnight during Ramadan

Lahore: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Friday allowed the markets to remain open till 12 midnight during Ramadan in the weekdays and till 1:00am on Saturdays and Sundays.

According to the details, Justice Shahid Karim of LHC heard the petition filed for remedying the smog.

During the hearing, the Member Judicial Commission submitted its report, in which it said that restaurants have less parking space whereas the dining halls are huge, due to which traffic flow is affected.

The court has asked for a parking plan from the restaurant owners on the next hearing.

Also, the court took notice of a restaurant owner's misbehavior with the staff of the Judicial Commission and summoned the restaurant owner for next hearing.

The court remarked that this has become the mindset of the people and everyone should contribute to it.

The member judicial commission told the court that concerned departments have started raids to investigate the issue of truckloads of dead chickens coming to Tollinton market, whose meat is used in shawarma worth Rs30. In this regard, the Department of Health and Food Authority has been activated and they have started raids.

The member judicial commission further informed the court that the water of tanneries is spreading in Kasur and no action is being taken to remedy it.

It is pertinent to note that two days earlier the Lahore High Court had also allowed the restaurants to stay open from Iftar to Suhoor in Ramadan.

On Wednesday, Justice Shahid Karim of LHC issued a written order for the last hearing on smog petition during which various departments submitted reports.

The commission said in a report that restaurant and cafe owners will be bound to implement all court orders, allowing them to be open from Iftar to Suhoor in Ramadan, which was approved by the court.