GUWAHATI: Students of Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-G), are all set to launch a crusade for a new time zone for the northeast to utilize the resources better.India, spread across 3,000 km from Gujarat in the west to Nagaland in the northeast, follows the Indian Standard Time (IST), passing through Allahabad. However, several studies have endorsed the proposal for separate time zones over the years, concluding that mere advancing the time can enhance efficiency and productivity of many industrial and non-industrial processes and conserve billions of units of electricity.Loss of daylight during working hours (for the country runs on one time zone) is the prime concern of the students' fraternity of IIT-G that is trying to build public opinion on the issue during TEDx, an event of the institute, on February 10."Indians, in the year 1884, had multiple time zones. After Independence, the government decided to adopt one time for the whole country to promote unity. But 1947 was a long time ago and the demands and circumstances have changed. Today, we are a developing nation with an enormous population. It's required to wisely use all the resources that are at our disposal without any wastage," said a statement issued by the organizers of TEDx at IIT-G.Organizers of the event have roped in renowned author Arup Kumar Dutta, who has campaigned on the issue for long. "During the winter months, the sun sets in the northeast as early as 4 pm. Every day, a common person is losing approximately one hour of daylight. On an average, two years of his life gets wasted, besides facing the risk of various health issues pertaining to it," said Vinit Yadav, a BTech student and leading crusader for the separate time zone movement in IIT-G.He added that an 'unjust' time zone has a deep impact on the productivity of people and increases the electricity usage due to late working schedule in the offices."A different time zone can help save millions of units of electricity and also increase efficiency. Every demand in this regard is put down by the central government in the name of the old age rhetoric of safety and the fear that it will lead to political and social division from the rest of the country. Do they have this little faith in the patriotism of the people of the northeast? Being one of the underdeveloped parts of the country, saving a few hours of extra daylight and electricity could create all the difference," he said.

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