DCs ordered to enforce market closing timing

LAHORE:The Punjab government Thursday issued instructions to the Deputy Commissioners of all districts to hold meetings with trader associations of their respective districts to enforce the federal government’s decision of closing of markets and bazaars at 8:30pm.

The Deputy Commissioners have been ordered to consult with the all trader associations of their respective districts and ensure implementation of the market closing at 8:30pm. Meanwhile, the trader associations in a joint press conference asked the government to revisit the decision of early closing of the businesses and markets and extend the time to 10pm. Contrary to this, the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) asked the government to increase the one hour and fix at 9:30pm instead of 8:3pm.

However, the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry didn’t react to the government’s decision. Rather, the LCCI president in a recent open letter to the Prime Minister had suggested early closing of the markets and businesses for energy conservation steps.

The FPCCI president Irfan Iqbal Sheikh in a media talk here on Thursday asked the government to increase closing time of markets to 9:30pm and an industrial package in the budget. “To deal with the energy crisis, shops have been suggested to be closed at 9:30pm instead of 8:30pm”, he asked and suggested that all the political parties need to work under one roof for the betterment of the economy. He said that the FPCCI would continue to play its role in improving the economy of the country. The trader association of Lahore said that traders were already adversely affected with deteriorated situation of the economy while the buyers did not turn up to the markets in the day time due to harsh weather conditions. They asked the government to divide the traders into two categories, wholesalers and retailers. The wholesale markets should be closed at 8:00pm and retail markets at 10pm, instead of 8:30pm. They said the traders are ready to support the government in the energy crisis but the government should not completely burden them.