LAHORE: The district administration has failed to fully implement the closure of markets, shopping malls, wedding halls and restaurants as part of an energy conservation drive in the city.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Umer Sher Chattha made teams to ensure the implementation of the closure orders and established 18 clusters in five tehsils of the city.

District administration officials were seen visiting the markets and announcing the closure of the markets on Tuesday, but traders and hotel administrators would not be deterred.

The Punjab government has imposed a time limit under which merchant shops, bakeries, general stores, warehouses, shopping malls, private offices and godowns will remain open till 9pm, marriage halls 10pm and hotels, clubs, cinemas, recreational places, circus cafes and theatres till 11:30pm. However, most of the markets, shops and hotels flouted the time limit and remained operational till midnight.

One of the restaurant managers, who continued its operation at 3am on Monday, told Dawn that the district administration and police teams visited him to implement the order of closure but he somehow “managed” the visiting officials.

He said the team came, took (free) dinner and left the place.

Another shopkeeper told Dawn that they would not follow the closure orders of the administration and would continue the business as usual through bribes.

Fresh juice shops, kiosks, internet cafes, merchant shops and restaurants in different areas of the city remained operational in most parts of the city even after 9pm.

In a related development, DC Chatha on Tuesday issued instructions to close markets in Lahore on Sundays.

He directed assistant commissioners to communicate the decision to the business community.

Trader leader Mian Waqar told Dawn they held a meeting with the DC on Tuesday and agreed to follow the directions of the government.

“We also closed our business during the Covid-19 lockdown, suffered huge losses and will follow the recent decision,” he said.

Another trader Naeem Meer said only Punjab and Sindh governments were following the energy-saving plan, whereas Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan governments were not acting upon the federal government’s directions to save energy.

He demanded decisions be implemented across the board as traders would also help the government save energy. He said the district administration should also address the loadshedding issue in markets during the daytime.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2022