Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz announced closure of markets, bazaars and business centers across Punjab at 9 pm to save energy. Accordi...
Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz announced closure of markets, bazaars and business centers across Punjab at 9 pm to save energy.
According to a handout issued by the Directorate of General Public Relations after the meeting, Hamza Shahbaz, after meeting business leaders and representatives from across the province, said that the decision was taken in consultation with the business community across the province to save energy.
Read also: Markets across Sindh, including Karachi, ordered to close at 9 pm
He said the decision would not apply to medical stores and that the working hours policy for Eid shopping would be reviewed in consultation with the business community.
On the other hand, the business community has expressed its full support for the government's measures in the energy crisis and business officials and representatives from across the province appreciated the government's efforts to save energy.
Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz said that the business community has always stood by the nation in difficult times and even today I thank the business community for their unconditional support to the government initiatives.
He said that consultation is a blessing and decisions taken through consultation always yield positive results. The business community has a key role to play in improving the economy.
Officials from the business community also expressed their views and suggestions.
The meeting was also attended by Khawaja Salman Rafique, Khawaja Ahmad Hassan, Rana Mashhur Ahmed, Syed Ali Haider Gilani, Ata Tarar, Chaudhry Bilal Asghar, Imran Goraya and other concerned officials.
It may be recalled that at the meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) on June 8, 2022, the four provinces had agreed in principle on the proposal to close markets and shops at 8:30 pm in order to save energy in the country.
Read more: "No proposal to shut down markets from 7pm to 10pm is under consideration"
At the meeting of the Federal Cabinet on June 7, 2022, the Chief Ministers were apprised of the proposals and decisions regarding energy saving. The four provinces agreed in principle to close the bazaars and shops at 8:30 pm. Was
The chief ministers of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan had sought a two-day respite to complete consultations with trade and business organizations in their respective provinces.
On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Health Minister Timur Saleem Jhagra had said in a statement on Twitter that his province had not agreed to close the markets at 8.30 am.
Meanwhile, the federal ministers had stressed on the need to change habits at the national level to save electricity generated from expensive oil and said that up to 4,000 MW of electricity could be saved by closing down the markets in time.
Also read: Work four and a half days a week to save fuel and electricity, Khawaja Asif
Yesterday, Federal Ministers Khawaja Asif, Maulana Asad Mehmood, Qamar-ul-Zaman Kaira and Musaddiq Malik in a joint press conference had said that Pakistan is the only country where markets are open till one o'clock at night even though the sun rises for 365 days. Do not use
He said that our entire nation, especially the traders, was urged to adopt the prevailing norms in the civilized countries.
He said that all stakeholders including traders were being taken into confidence for energy budget and the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif would continue to take steps to alleviate the plight of the people and provide relief in the days to come.
It may be recalled that earlier, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had proposed to work four and a half days a week across the country in the current situation to save fuel.
Read more: National Economic Council: Provinces agree to close bazaar at 8:30 pm
Khawaja Asif, while opposing the opening of markets from one o'clock in the afternoon to one o'clock in the night, had also suggested that the markets should be opened only during the day, taking advantage of the 365 days of sunshine.
He said in his message on social networking site Twitter that "if the markets adjust their times, 3,500 MW of electricity can be saved without Karachi. There are difficult situations and difficult decisions are needed."
It should be noted that 4 to 12 hours of load shedding is going on in the country during the hot summer season as the shortfall of 7000 MW of electricity has shaken the country.
In view of the increasing load shedding, Electric, the company responsible for power supply to Karachi city, had announced 3 hours daily load shedding in areas of the city which are exempt from load shedding or less damaged.
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