Tengrinews.kz - Residents of the Markakol and Ulken Naryn districts in the East Kazakhstan region switched to their "own time zone" on February 24.
Now in the Markakol and Ulken Naryn districts, the working day begins at 8 AM and ends at 5:30 PM, with a lunch break from 12 PM to 1:30 PM. This schedule was introduced taking into account that it gets light and gets dark early in the region, in order to make the most efficient use of daylight hours for working residents. This information was confirmed by the Regional Communications Service of the East Kazakhstan region and the internal policy departments of these districts.
"From today, February 24, the working day in institutions began at 8 AM. After discussing with the population, we came to this decision. People supported this idea, it is much more convenient, because in the morning everyone gets up early anyway, and in the evening, on the contrary, there is time for family and household chores," explained the akimat (local government administration) of the Markakol district of East Kazakhstan.
The first to switch to "its" time was the Katon-Karagay district in early January of this year. Residents of 17 villages work according to the new schedule - with a five-day work week from 8 AM to 5:30 PM and a lunch break from 12 PM to 1:30 PM.
As reported earlier by the local akimat, all 40 institutions in the district switched to the new work schedule, although many did not even have to adjust, because schools, kindergartens, and hospitals were already working from 8 am.
Recall: On the night of February 29 to March 1, Kazakhstan switched to a single time zone. Three months later, on June 7, a petition to cancel the time change collected the required 50 thousand signatures.