HYDERABAD, June 4: The Hyder-abad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) and a number of other trade organisations have demanded that the federal and provincial governments should extend the timing of closure of shopping centres and business houses to 10.30pm from 9pm.

A meeting of the chamber and the office-bearers of the trade bodies presided over by HCCI President Haji Mohammad Yaqoob at the chamber’s secretariat on Tuesday asked the government to direct Hesco not to impose load-shedding between 6pm to 10pm.

The meeting expressed concern over issuance of detection and inflated bills and called upon Hesco chief to end this practice. The old and worn-out service lines should be repaired and weekly holiday should be announced for banks as well as for the traders on the same day, the meeting proposed.

Haji Yaqoob said that the business community was prepared to cooperate with government on load-shedding, reiterating the demand for fixing the shops’ closure time at 10.30pm.

He argued that the big trade centres opened at 12 noon as there was no business activity during day time due to intense heat, and appealed to business community to keep their air conditioners closed up to 12 noon.

Local Calls: The president of Pakistan Telecommunication Company, Waleed Arshhaid, has been told that the reduction in duration of local calls from five minutes to two have resulted in 80 per cent increase in the consumers’ bills and seriously hit the businessmen community.

The Hyderabad Chamber of Comm-erce and Industry President Haji Mohammad Yaqoob said at a gathering, also participated by PTCL chief, at the chamber’s secretariat on Tuesday that the abolition of “14” and “17” free call facility had added to consumers’ difficulties. He demanded that the duration of local calls should be increased to five minutes and “17” and “14” free call facility should be restored.

The PTCL president said that he was determined to turn the PTCL into a world class telecommunications company and heavy investment was being made to improve its infrastructure.

WATER QUALITY: The managing director of the Water and Sanitation Agency, Mohammad Basheer Awan, has requested the chief engineer of Kotri Barrage to release freshwater downstream Kotri as the shortage of water in the river had had an unhealthy impact its quality.