Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) on the demand of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has extended markets, shopping malls and departmental stores' closure time by half an hour. The markets will be closed by 8:30 pm instead of 8.00 pm.
The LCCI had requested the chairman Wapda Tariq Hameed to extend the markets closure time by at least an hour (up to 9 pm) as during the summer, 8pm closure time is too early for commercial entities. However, the Wapda authorities by accepting LCCI demand have given half hour extension to all the markets.
It is pertinent to mention here that the government has taken the decision in order to conserve power and curb loadshedding as a part of load-management and energy conservation plan.
Earlier, the Federal Minister for Water and Power had clarified that the orders would not apply on Saturdays as people generally stay out of their homes late on Saturday night. The Wapda is also launching an awareness campaign to educate people about conserving electricity.