KARACHI, May 7: The government’s energy conservation plan could not take off as representatives of 360 market associations in the city and traders not only refused to close their businesses after 8pm from Monday but also threatened of dire consequences if they are made to follow the ban.

Their stout refusal came when the Sindh government issued a notification on an earlier order of the federal government on closure of shops and commercial centres in the evening. The notification was issued under Section V of the West Pakistan Shops and Establishment Ordinance 1969.

A major part of the city faced frequent power outages as the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation resorted to 250-megawatt load-shedding at least twice a day.Apparently the authorities were not also very enthusiastic about enforcing the plan.

A marathon meeting between the Chief Executive Officer of the KESC, Syed Mohammad Amjad, and representatives of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and small traders was held at the KCCI after which traders and KCCI members unanimously rejected the government decision to enforce the 8pm deadline.

Mr Amjad, who tried to explain reasons for power outages and unfolded development plans, failed to convince the traders and business representatives to observe the new closing timings.

The representatives of the All Pakistan Organization of Small Traders and Industry said they would start stage a day-long hunger strike outside the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday and if the matter was resolved they would start staging protest demonstrations in all the markets across the city from May 15.

In the charged meeting, Haji Haroon Memon, chairman of small traders’ association, and Mahmood Hamid, president, expressed complete no-confidence in the assurances given by the KESC chief and said they cautioned the government that if the government functionaries sough to enforce the energy conservation plan, they would do so at their own risk.

“Enough is enough,” said the KCCI chief Majyd Aziz after the meeting and claimed the government plan was defective, unworkable, illogical and not sustainable. He warned that the coming two months would turn the city into a hell on earth due to continuously declining power generation and distribution network of the KESC.

He said that the business community was not satisfied with the KESC’s standard pronouncements blaming the Water and Power Development Authority for its own fault.

He said the business community was moving the court for the losses they suffered due to load-shedding by the KESC.

The KCCI president said after the meeting that representatives of the KESC, police, and, provincial government were categorically informed that businessmen and the traders’ community would not observe the 8pm deadline for closing their business and commercial activities.

He said the bodies of traders, businessmen, and markets had resolved they would resist every move of the government to enforce the new shopping centres deadline.

“Even the police personnel would not be tolerated and will be dealt with accordingly if they forced closures after 8 pm.”

He said the KCCI chief and leader of the business and traders’ community he had sent an SOS to the Sindh governor, chief minister and Sindh minister for industries, intimating the authorities about their rejection of the government decision to impose the 8 pm deadline.