National Economic Council approves the closing all markets at 8 pm.
Ahsan Iqbal, the minister for planning, development, and special initiatives, declared on Tuesday that the federal, provincial, and local administrations had all agreed to close markets nationwide by 8 p.m. as part of a “energy conservation plan.”
Iqbal reported that the participants of today’s NEC meeting included representatives from each province. After reviewing the current situation, it was unanimously decided to close all the markets at 8 pm from July 1. This series is starting from July 1.
According to him, all provinces will implement the decision to close their markets at 8 pm.
The federal minister added, electrical energy is where the government spends the most money. Measures are being taken to curb these costs, and if we control them, many problems will be solved.
The government will take more important decisions regarding this matter in future, he said that the biggest challenge during summer is power generation. Markets were agreed to close early in the evening to meet demand from domestic consumers.
Provincial Chief Ministers approved the selection. Along with installing green energy measures, it was also decided to replace obsolete bulbs with LED lighting.
The business community is against early closure of the markets.
The dealers have temporarily rejected the federal government’s decision. In response to the government’s decision, the All Pakistan Traders Association has demanded that the decision to close the markets at 8 pm be withdrawn.
According to a press release by All Pakistan Traders Association President Jameel Baloch, no store will close at 8 pm this summer. The inefficient method of closing shops at 8 pm has been adopted by every government. In summer there are no daytime transactions, shopping continues till 11pm.
According to Jameel Baloch, traders are the most expensive electricity buyers in the nation. Stopping the economic wheel to conserve energy is absurd. Government officials should stop receiving free electricity, and they should also switch off their air conditioners, then every household fan will start working. Unfortunately either the Defense Minister or the Planning Minister. He further said that the energy minister should talk to the representatives of the traders.
