THE government has decided to halt fertilizer production from the next month diverting the gas supplies to the power plants, which aims at increasing generation of electricity to feed the irrigation pumps and meet the demands of all the consumers in the coming summer as a leading daily report revealed on Thursday. Although this is the temporary measure of the government to stop fertilizer production, but its consequence is not measurable and temporal in terms of loss in fertilizer production and the cost of lying idle fertilizer plants while salary and their malignance cost would continue. It may also cause food grains deficiency making import of food grains necessary at huge cost.
The decision of the government to divert gas supplies to the power plants in place of fertilizer production is the seventh time since 2010, that the government would be taking the step to increase power generation to meet its demand in summer. But there are no mentionable developments of power supply taking place, thereby huge sufferings of the people due to load-shedding continue.
It needs to be pointed out that Bangladesh’s efforts to increase the power generation capacity over the last year have failed to make a significant dent in reducing the intensity of load-shedding in the peak demand-season of April-May. So, experts are confused as to how much this decision of halting fertilizer production for power plant supplying gas is logical?
To lose one-side, development of the other side might not be realistic at all. It may bring a catastrophe for the economy of the country in a sense that cultivators will be deprived of using fertilizer for their rice production. To mitigate this crisis, government should otherwise import fertilizer from abroad.
Government is saying that food security is our topmost priority. So, additional electricity will be supplied for Boro irrigation. But question is what sources will be used by the government for additional electricity generation? In power generation and production, government has totally failed to reach an optimal level although government is saying that we have produced more than the country needs.
But frequent load-shedding scenarios do not prove the government has done a lot in the power production sector of Bangladesh. A source said that privately-owned power plants are increasing but government-owned ones are not. Having no visible development in power generation sector, government has lost its popularity as well. A magical word is often said by the people ‘electricity sometime comes’. Coming to this grievous circumstance, there is no alternative for the government except to succeed in power production and generation for the people’s welfare.
The decision of the government to divert gas supplies to the power plants in place of fertilizer production is the seventh time since 2010, that the government would be taking the step to increase power generation to meet its demand in summer. But there are no mentionable developments of power supply taking place, thereby huge sufferings of the people due to load-shedding continue.
It needs to be pointed out that Bangladesh’s efforts to increase the power generation capacity over the last year have failed to make a significant dent in reducing the intensity of load-shedding in the peak demand-season of April-May. So, experts are confused as to how much this decision of halting fertilizer production for power plant supplying gas is logical?
To lose one-side, development of the other side might not be realistic at all. It may bring a catastrophe for the economy of the country in a sense that cultivators will be deprived of using fertilizer for their rice production. To mitigate this crisis, government should otherwise import fertilizer from abroad.
Government is saying that food security is our topmost priority. So, additional electricity will be supplied for Boro irrigation. But question is what sources will be used by the government for additional electricity generation? In power generation and production, government has totally failed to reach an optimal level although government is saying that we have produced more than the country needs.
But frequent load-shedding scenarios do not prove the government has done a lot in the power production sector of Bangladesh. A source said that privately-owned power plants are increasing but government-owned ones are not. Having no visible development in power generation sector, government has lost its popularity as well. A magical word is often said by the people ‘electricity sometime comes’. Coming to this grievous circumstance, there is no alternative for the government except to succeed in power production and generation for the people’s welfare.
