New Delhi, July 03 : In a relief to traders in the city aggrieved over the order to shut down shops by 1930 hours due to the power crisis, the Delhi Government today withdrew the restrictions.
With the power situation in Delhi easing due to Monsoon showers hitting the city over the past few days, the Labour Department in Delhi said it was removing the restrictions on the traders to down shutters by 1930 hrs.
According to a notice issued by the Labour Department, the timing restrictions imposed on July 1 were being withdrawn as there had been a noticeable improvement in the power situation.
”The shops and establishments can now revert to their old timings,”the state Government notice said.
”The shops can now remain open upto 2300 hrs if they desire,”the notice said.
Earlier, faced by a severe power crisis due to a delay in arrival of Monsoon in Delhi, the state labour department had issued a notification on July 1 directing all shops and commercial establishments to ”down shutters by 1930 hrs for the next 15 days due to the present power situation”.
The Government order had been criticised by the traders in the city who felt the restrictions would hit business badly.
The decision to impose timing restrictions on the shops came after power firms pointed out that commercial establishments and shops account for about 40 per cent of the total power consumption in the city.
However, the arrival of the Monsoon in Delhi a few days ago and the consequent spells of rains in Delhi has somewhat eased the power situation in the capital, leading the Labour Department to withdraw its earlier order.
–Agencies