Two weekly holidays rejected by Chitral people.
‘Cutting the head to cure the headache’, say Chitralis
CHITRAL: Announcement by the government of introducing two weekly holidays has been taken with a pinch of salt by the people in Chitral. talking to CN many said there is already lack of work and inefficiency in the offices with six working days and reducing another working day would further aggravate the under productivity of the offices. Educated people said we cannot blindly copy the west where five working days are in vogue, as there, climatic condition and working habits are different to us.
Here in Pakistan at 12 pm in every office people leave work on the pretext that they are preparing for prayers (whether they are praying or not is immaterial) and which cannot be challenged by any one as a taboo.. Then it is time to pack up so practically offices work from 9 to 12. Some NGOs ,Banks etc where working hours stretch till 4 pm, even there, one can visibly see unproductive atmosphere after lunch as sloppiness sets in and office workers display exhaustion and irritation.
The best way to tackle the electricity problem without compromising on office work output is to start office hours at 0700 hours and close at 1300 hrs without any break. Payers can be offered after office hours as there is ample time. Weekly holiday on Sunday should be done away with and offices remain open seven days a week. However as an internal arrangement, workers can be given weekly off days in rotation so that the office remains open and workers have weekly off too.
To save electricity air conditioners should be totally banned from offices until the problem is solved. By saying air conditioners will not be put on before 1100 hrs means nothing, as who is going to check every office when the AC was put on?, and given the general state of honesty, one can safely multiply this energy saving step with zero..
The energy saving measures announced by the government are too little and too late. The pressure has again been put on the public by closing offices for two days , while no mentionable personal sacrifice has been made by those in authority.