Mohammad Yasin, a shopkeeper in Super Market (F-6 Markaz), sits idle at his shop reading the newspaper and sweating profusely as he waits for potential customers. He sells cigarettes, but in addition, runs a side business uploading credit to mobile phones (easy load).

However, with the advent of Ramazan, both businesses have suffered.

While his usual customers refrain from smoking while they fast, Mohammad Yasin also notices that fewer number of people come to him for an easy load. They hurry past him to grocery stores or samosa stalls or fruit vendors, preparing for their Iftar.

“Business is at a low. Normally, I am very busy, but in Ramazan, there is hardly anything to do and all I do is to sit here all the day,” he says, while fanning himself with the newspaper.

He adds that in normal days, he uploads roughly Rs60,000 per day to different mobile phones but in Ramazan, sending Rs25,000 becomes an arduous task. “Customers just don’t come. Whether it is because they do not want to use their phones or because they are busy praying or sleeping,” he says.

Mohammad Yasin is not the only one to witness the decrease in cell phone usage during Ramazan.

The Public Relations Manager of a private cellular company agrees that a decrease in the number of people using the network was witnessed every Ramazan. “For the past ten years, during Ramazan there is a decrease of nearly 30 per cent in the number of calls people make. This dip reaches at its peak in the mid of Ramazan,” he says.

“However, with the advent of Eid, cellphone companies witness a sharp increase in network usage when people greet their loved ones and wish them a happy Eid,” he adds.

With the faithful engrossed in religious activities during Ramazan, few have the time to make calls especially as the timings of sleep also change. The nights are spent in prayers, while the days go to the daily chores and sleep.

“While fasting, I don’t talk at all, and the hot weather makes it even more difficult for me,” says Ms Hajra, a housewife, who has to take care of her baby girl as well. She adds that at night, she prays and during the daytime she sleeps.

“I don’t have enough time to talk to friends or relatives, and barely use my cellphone except for text messages. People continue to send SMS (text messages) like they do in normal days,” she adds. This is why she now spends less credit on phone calls, and believes a credit of Rs100 would be enough for the whole month although normally she uses Rs100 a week.

Similarly, Ahmed Farooq, a student preparing for the ACCA exams, believes people do not have time to make calls during Ramazan as they either pray or sleep.

“For most people, Ramazan is the time to pray, and they don’t spend the night making long calls. Plus, there is little time to sleep, which is then made up for in the morning,” he says.

However, Mr Farooq believes Ramazan has no effect on youngsters calling their ‘friends’ at night.

“Most youngsters are stuck to their phone till Sehri, and continue talking to their friends all the night. Their activities are not affected in the least,” he says.

This view is supported by Khurram, who maintains that he calls his friends at night even though his cellular company has not provided cheaper calls during Ramazan.

“It is difficult to sleep for only two hours before waking up for Sehri, and I don’t feel like talking during the day. However, talking at night is easier so I wake up all night and call my friends, usually after midnight. The day is spent working or sleeping,” he says.

Similarly, certain businesses which are based on the regular use of mobile phones do not witness a decrease in calls during Ramazan.

“We have to call potential buyers and sellers, and that means we are constantly using the phone,” says Arif Rafique, who runs a property business in Blue Area, Islamabad.

Therefore, he says there is no change in his routine as he continues to use the mobile phone in Ramazan just like in normal days. “Usually, Rs500 are used up every day calling people, and the same continues even in the holy month,” he says.