Another experiment is being made in Pakistan since people across the country have now 60 additional minutes (one hour) to use before the sunset, following advancement of the official time by an hour from Sunday June 1st.
A government notification says the country has advanced its time on the first day of June and will be six hours ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) instead of the present five hours. The DST is being introduced to reduce power consumption and maximise the use of daylight. During DST, the sun appears to rise one hour later in the morning, and sets an hour later in the evening, seeming to stretch the day longer.
Experts say this experiment with DST is not happening for the first time since the military government of President Pervez Musharraf tried the same in 2002. However, the scheme was not repeated next year since millions of illiterate people and those living in rural areas simply refused to advance their watches.
The present regime had taken the decision in a bid to save energy. The government has decided that all the commercial plazas will now be closed till 9 pm. The government will encourage shopkeepers to keep their shops open on Sundays and close them on Fridays to distribute the electricity more equitably throughout the week. The new time schedule will remain effective for 90 days.
The decision was taken by the federal government to curtail power usage as the country is facing a massive electricity shortfall of nearly 4,000-megawatt that is expected to increase in the summer season. Scheduled power cuts of five to six hours in urban areas and 8-10 hours in rural areas are a way of life in most parts of the country.
Attempts to adopt this system have been under way since 1994, when the then government decided to go for daylight saving. The experts say the system may be working in 80 countries but may not work in Pakistan as the government fails to educate the masses on the benefits – and the rationale – behind the move. A number of other Muslim countries like Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Syria are also following the system. Psychiatrists say it is certainly going to be an interesting experience for the people in Pakistan who are not used to this kind of change.