Early to bed, early to rise to make Karachi healthy, wealthy, and bright

The Sindh government has decided to implement the early business closure order with immediate effect, instead of June 15 as announced earlier this month.

Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad had decided to take this measure in a meeting held on June 1 to discuss the crisis that persists ever since the advent of current summer.

The convening of the meeting was prompted by the May 30 power breakdown which kept most parts of the city without electricity for up to 19 hours.  

It was decided that all shopping and commercial centres, non-essential outlets and establishments be asked to close business by dusk from June 15 till the situation improves, however, a notification in this regard was issued on Thursday with the clause stating that it had come into effect ‘immediately’, making it clear that the concerns not exempted in the notification would have to close their business by 8pm from June 9, and not June 15.

The notification contains a long list of the commercial and non-commercial concerns exempted from the closure, giving to understand that a large number of commercial and industrial concerns, as well as the public sector consumers, would remain unaffected by the order.

Following is the list of the establishments, concerns and individuals exempted from the early closure: Offices of/under the federal and provincial governments; offices of/under Pakistan Railway Board, including Railway stations; office of/under any local authority, a trust, a corporation, or any other public statutory body not being run for profit/ gain or in the cause of its business does not make any profit/gain; shops or stalls at any public exhibition or show; shops or stalls at any public fair or bazaar held for religious or charitable purposes; clubs, hostels, and messes not maintained for profit/gain; establishments for the treatment or care of the sick, infirm, destitute or mentally unfit persons; stalls and refreshment rooms at railway stations, steamers and launch stations, docks, wharfs and airports, and on trains, steamer or aircraft; any person employed exclusively in connection with collection, dispatch, delivery and conveyance of, or custom agent canvasser, messenger, watchmen, caretaker or conservancy staff, or any person employed exclusively in connection with collection, dispatch, delivery and conveyance of, or custom formalities on goods, any shop or commercial establishments.

Besides, nothing in the clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 6 and in section (7) shall apply on clubs, hostels, and messes maintained for profit/gain, shops dealing solely in any vegetables, meat, fish and dairy products; bread, pastries, sweet meat and flowers, medicines, surgical appliances, bandages or any other medical requisition, articles required for funerals, burials or ceremonies; tobacco, cigars, cigarette, biri, pan, liquid, newspapers or periodicals, automobile service stations and petrol pumps (for retail sale of patrol), cinemas, theatres and other places of public entertainment.  

According to the KESC spokesman, Sultan Hasan Khan, the enforcement of this measure would not help end load shedding.

He estimated that the quantum of electricity conserved through the early closure of business at around 75 megawatts as against the actual shortfall during the peak hours of 200 megawatts.

He said that this shortfall could be managed only when the KESC consumers, over two million in number, kept off at least one bulb of 100 watts in regular use and followed the practice religiously until the crisis was over.  

Most developed nations rise early in the morning and all markets are opened  in the morning but in Pakistan, the Islamic concept has largely forgotten and Karachi leads the cities which  starts  its business from noon. Call anyone in Karachi on 10 a.m. and you can guess by the tone how frustrated he is on getting the call so early in the morning.  

Most businesses open after 12 p.m. and there are few buyers till lunch. People are usually awake till midnight so they cannot rise in the morning. Early morning is the time when most human have high energy level but this energy is wasted in sleeping.  

Its yet to been seen if karachiites can alter their lifestyle due to new realities and if electricity is saved due to early closure of some businesses.