Shops in Guwahati, Dibrugarh & Silchar to operate 24/7: Assam CM

Dibrugarh, Mar 21: Commercial establishments in the municipal corporation areas of Dibrugarh, Guwahati, and Silchar will now be allowed to operate 24x7 at the discretion of their owners, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced after a Cabinet meeting here on Thursday.

He said that shops will operate round the clock but with certain working regulations for the employees. "There will be no mandatory weekly closure. However, no employee shall work beyond 48 hours per week in a single shift in compliance with existing labour laws. In other parts of the state, business establishments will be allowed to remain open until 2 am," Sarma said at a press conference following the Cabinet meeting held at the Chief Minister's Secretariat here.

The Chief Minister said that traders will be permitted to engage staff in different shifts for the extended operations of their shops.

On the issue of wine shop operations, the Chief Minister said that wine shops in Dibrugarh and Silchar will be allowed to operate until midnight only. On the construction of the hostel for MLAs and the speaker, besides the Secretariat building here in the city, the Chief Minister further said that work is in progress and will be completed in a year's time.

By

Staff Reporter