Arunachal and the rest of the North East region experiences dawn as early as 4 am and sunrise is by 4:20 am. However, almost all institutional and governmental activity starts only between 8 and 9:30 in the morning along with the rest of the country. Therefore there is a window of almost 3 to 4 hours of un-productivity except for those engaged in agriculture. Therefore, a separate time zone will help improve efficiency and increase working hours.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu today once again broached the subject for a separate time zone for the frontier state. This gains significance as his statement comes after the Gauhati high court squashed a Public Interest Litigation seeking a separate time zone for the entire Northeastern region.

By all means, the argument is not without substance.

The central government has rejected such demands on the ground that the region was not losing electricity as claimed and that the amount of electricity saved would be modest if the clock was moved an hour ahead of rest of the country. It also opines that different time zones may pose difficulties for airlines, railways and communication services. However, one important aspect which the successive government at the Centre have overlooked is the productivity aspect of the argument. 

The government’s argument that there will be only a modest saving of electricity might be correct. However the most important aspect is the productivity of the people in the region. For centuries the region mostly inhabited by tribals were known for their hard work and productivity. The Indian Standard Time did not affect much of the daily routine of the people in the region for a long time except in the cities and a few towns. At present with development and improvement in communication the influence of the IST has increased in area.

The idea of a standard time zone has become so integral to our lives that we often take it for granted and assume it to be a part of natural phenomena. We tend to forget the complex contestations — including legal ones — that go into its making. The creation of a time zone signals the victory of time over space with geographical areas being brought under a single time zone rather than relying on local solar time. It entails a denial of local time which affects social and economic lives locally.

It is time that some pilot studies are taken up to study the feasibility of a new time zone in the region. Meanwhile, we can also experiment with daylight saving measures like advancing working hours for government offices, commercial establishments and schools.

This will give us data on likely impact of a different time zone for the Northeast.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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