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Lahore: Since Pakistan Standard Time was moved ahead by an hour on June 1st, under a daylight saving strategy introduced by the government as a part of efforts to help save power, many people have found themselves caught up in a serious state of confusion.
"I used to serve family supper at 9.00 pm. Now we eat at 10. Because it is still daylight at nine. Consequently, bedtime has been pushed beyond midnight. But my husband still has to reach work at eight, and for him sleep time has been cut," complained Dilshad Yusuf, whose husband is a factory floor supervisor.
As was found on the previous two occasions when the experiment was attempted, Daylight Saving time does not quite work in the country.
In the first place, people rebel at the idea of eating the evening meal in twilight or putting children to bed before dark. The result is that life moves forward by an hour, resulting in a longer working day for many and rather defeating the purpose of a time change.
The complaint also is that the Daylight Saving Measure has upset schedules and created "psychological" confusion.
There is also the argument that the measure has not played any part in reducing the "load-shedding" or power cuts that are the bane of life for many in Lahore and elsewhere across the country.
Indeed, this week, load-shedding, which already resulted in power being shut down for up to eight hours a day, was increased by another eight hours following faults along the gas pipeline supplying gas to power plants.
The consequences for families forced to spend hours without fans and air-conditioners in temperatures of over 40 degrees centigrade and high levels of humidity, were grim.
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