ISLAMABAD: The capital’s already sparse nightlife was dealt a blow on Wednesday when the district administration formally announced that marketplaces, wedding halls and restaurants in the city will be made to close down early in a bid to save power during the summer months.

The order was conveyed by Islamabad Deputy Commissioner retired Captain Mushtaq to the district administration with directions to ensure its implementation.

Earlier in the day, a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCE), chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, announced the new energy conservation plan for the federal capital.

According to the CCE decision, all markets and shops in the federal capital will shut by 8pm, while marriage functions will have to end by 10pm and restaurants will have to close their doors by 11pm. The same schedule would also be replicated in Punjab to set an example for other provinces, saving hundreds of megawatts of electricity.

Markets required to close at 8pm, weddings at 10pm and restaurants at 11pm; traders reject move, say they were not consulted

However, the traders of the federal capital have rejected the decision, declaring it “inapplicable”. They have also criticised the government for not consulting their representatives before announcing the decision.

According to an official statement released after the meeting that lasted nearly three hours, the PM directed all the ministers on the CCE to hold meetings with all four chief ministers to brief them on the need and urgency of conserving electricity.

He also asked the Ministry of Water and Power to take steps to create awareness among the public regarding the need to conserve electricity.

It was also decided that the production and sale of efficient electrical appliances that consuming lesser electricity would be encouraged, including fans, florescent lamps, air conditioners, motors, refrigerators, washing machines and UPS.

The meeting also approved an energy audit and energy conservation awareness among industries to lower their bills and the amount of electricity they consumed.

Super Market Traders Welfare Association President Sarfraz Mughal told Dawn that although no one bothered to take the traders onboard, the decision was not completely unexpected.

“In the past, the government has announced such decisions many times, but they could not be completely implemented. Most of the shops in Super Market open at around noon and most of the business is done after sunset,” he said.

“With summer fast approaching, the days are getting longer so people have started coming to the markets later than usual. It is impossible to close shop by 8pm. The PPP also tried to implement a similar decision but we rejected it,” he said.

“Due to construction on the metro bus, traffic remains jammed in the city during daytime. If the decision is implemented, we will also see traffic jams after office and school timings. The government should try to decrease the problems of the people instead of increasing them,” he said.

President Aabpara Welfare Association Malik Zaheer also lamented the fact that the government did not take traders on board before making the decision.

“I learnt about the decision from TV channels and then I contacted some of my fellow traders to devise a line of action. We reached the conclusion that it is impossible to implement the decision,” he said.

“We are already facing four to five hours of loadshedding during the day. If the government closes shop by 8pm that means traders, especially those whose livelihoods depend on electricity, will get just three to four hours to work,” he said.

Mr Zaheer said that a majority of people get home from work after 5pm. After spending some time in the house and relaxing, they usually head out for shopping around 8pm.

“If government wants to close shops at 10pm, that’s still acceptable. We won’t accept anything earlier than that,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2015

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