ollowing a fresh directive from the Lahore High Court which mandated that all commercial activity be halted at 10pm, the city district government of Lahore has sprung into action.

This is an interesting development, especially considering how only recently the time for closure of markets had been changed from 10pm to 11pm upon the insistence of the traders. The changeover supposedly has to do with the measures being taken by the CDGL to stem smog.

Shortly after the court’s strict order for enforcement, Deputy Commissioner Rafia Haider formed 26 teams comprising officials from Revenue, Environment and Industries Departments, under the supervision of their respective assistant commissioners, to ensure better results.

Talking to TNS, the DC said that 3,892 businesses were inspected during the September 20-26 week. Of these, only 300 were found violating the closing time. “This shows a reduction in violations,” she says. Those found guilty of “chronic violations” were fined a total of Rs 170,000.

Similarly, 233 shops were sealed for blatantly violating the closing time and seven FIRs were registered. However, the police haven’t made any arrests so far.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Adnan Rasheed says the CDGL works within the tehsils of the Lahore City, Model Town, Cantonment, Shalamar and Raiwind. Every evening, the inspection teams go into the field and compile comprehensive reports.

As per the data provided by the office of the DC, in City Tehsil, 836 shops were inspected, out of which 19 were found to be operating beyond the permitted closing time. None of the violators was fined and no FIRs were registered, but 19 shops were sealed.

In Model Town Tehsil, the teams visited 1,147 shops, of which 156 had violated the closing time mandate. Again, no one was fined and no arrests were made, but 137 shops were sealed and an FIR was registered against one violator.

In Cantonment Tehsil, of the 902 shops inspected, 81 were caught staying open beyond the permitted hours. 58 of those shops were sealed. No FIR was registered and no one was apprehended.

Similarly, in Shalamar Tehsil, a total of 778 shops were inspected, of which 25 were found guilty, but no one was fined or arrested. Only 12 shops were sealed. In Raiwind Tehsil, 229 shops were inspected and seven shopkeepers were fined.

As per the data provided by the office of the deputy commssioner, in City Tehsil, 836 shops were inspected, out of which 19 were found to be operating beyond the permitted closing time. None of the violators was fined, and no FIRs were registered, but 19 shops were sealed.

he closing time for marketplaces has long been a moot point between the traders and the government, typically because of environmental reasons and/ or daylight saving/ energy conservation.

Asad Mehr, the president of a traders’ union, says: “Mandating the shops to close at 10pm is fair enough. Earlier, amid the pandemic, when we were asked to close at 6pm; and later, at 8pm, it had become very tough for us.”

A shopkeeper in Gulberg, who has been fined by the inspection team, alleges that the teams work arbitrarily and callously: “I was winding up my day’s work when they ticketed me, despite the fact that I had switched off the main lights and there were no customers on the [shop] premises.”

In January this year, the government had rolled out a plan to conserve energy. Under the plan, the markets were mandated to close by 8:30pm. Wedding halls were to wrap up activities by 10. Not everyone was happy with the regime. The traders, in particular, raised serious concerns. They said it would be hard for them to shorten their business hours, especially at a time when the country’s economy was in an awfully bad situation.

According to leading economist, Dr Qais Aslam, the need of the hour is to “rationalise business hours and industry operations.

“I believe that industries should operate 24/7,” he adds, “while businesses should be allowed to run from 8 in the morning to 8 in the evening.”

He says that our lifestyle is characterised currently by businesses opening late, with many establishments not opening until 12 noon. Even meat sellers, he adds, open around 11am, which is close to lunchtime and leads to a waste of valuable daylight.

However, he argues that early closing times would benefit no one until and unless office and school timings are adjusted accordingly. He explains, “A person with a 9-to-5 job has limited time to purchase groceries if shops close at 8.”

Dr Aslam suggests that adopting solar power would not only help address the energy crisis but also support online businesses which have a crucial role in the economy.

He rejects the notion that the change in business hours is in any way related to preventive measures with regards to smog. He also notes that the penalties for violations of closing times are mild and won’t serve to deter the violators.

The writer is a media veteran interested in politics, consumer rights and entrepreneurship