News
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
5-day working week to continue until Oct 31By Sajid Chaudhry
ISLAMABAD: A high-level inter-provincial meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, on Tuesday decided to extend the duration of measures taken to conserve electricity for three more months.
Measures such as two weekly holidays and closure of markets and shops at 8pm were going to expire on July 31. However, the government has now decided to extend their duration until October 31.
The government believes the decision would help it deal with the energy crisis.
The decision was taken in consultation with all the four provinces.
According to the decision, use of power in electronic billboards will be minimised, while wedding halls will be closed at 12am in Karachi and at 11pm in the rest of the country.
The meeting also decided to form a ministerial committee, consisting of finance, water and power and petroleum ministers, to resolve the issue of electricity arrears. The committee will hold meetings with the four provincial chief ministers over the issue.
The PM also directed the officials to ensure that there was no load-shedding during Sehar and Iftar in Ramazan. He said 1,500MW electricity was being saved per day due to energy conservation steps.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk