Traders defy 8pm closure deadline

LAHORE: Traders on Monday defied the 8 pm shutdown deadline for markets, and geared up for what they are calling a ‘civil disobedience movement’ against the Punjab government.

Markets in Model Town, Link Road, Gulberg, Shadman, The Mall, Allama Iqbal Town, Faisal Town and the Walled City were powered by generators and continued to serve customers till 9 pm. Most customers endorsed the traders’ stance and welcomed their decision to defy the ban.

The Traders’ Association argued that if the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) had the right to power off their feeders at 8 pm, they had the right to keep their shops open on alternative sources of power until 9 pm.

Traders in Punjab have condemned the exclusion of other provinces from the 8 pm deadline. They warned that the government was inviting protests all over the province if it used police to supress shopkeepers.

Haji Maqsood Ahmed, president of the Pakistan Anjuman Tajran, said: “We are no longer using electricity supplied by Pepco after 8 pm. We should be allowed to run our businesses. The austerity   measures were introduced ostensibly to conserve energy from the national grid. Enforcement should not turn into a pointless tug of war”.

Babar Ali Bhatti, secretary of the Qaumi Tajir Ittehad (QTI), said that the decision to extend the deadline was beneficial both for customers and traders, adding that it did not impact the government in any way. He said: “Many of our customers can not shop in afternoons and wait for the sun to set before heading to the markets. That leaves us with a two-hour window every day to earn our livelihood”.

Muhammad Yasin, president of the Pakistan Traders’ Front, said that traders had contributed whenever they had been asked to render sacrifices for national causes. Despite their efforts, he added, Pepco had failed to manage its deficit or augment its generation capacity.

“Electricity tariffs have increased and our business hours have shrunk. It is just not viable any longer to close shops so early”, said Yasin.

A customer told The Express Tribune: “Sometimes I have to work late and it becomes impossible to pick up essential household items before the markets shut down. The government should consider the inconvenience to the people and the financial impact of the 8 pm deadline.”

Published in the Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2010.