Gazi Anowarul Hoque :
No desired development activities were taken place in the southern part of Bangladesh due to lack of gas and available electricity facilities although 43 years of independence already passed.
These were alleged by speakers of a roundtable discussion held recently in Barisal. Elites of the Barisal city and business personalities were present in it.
Although few number of industries were set up by personal initiatives but it is difficult for them to survive as the production cost comperatively higher then other gas-based districts. So, they could not sustain any longer resultant in near ruination.
The worst affected mentionable districts are Barisal, Faridpur and adjoining areas. For this reason, a large number of educated youths are lying unemployed. They compelled to come Dhaka for job just to survive themselves and their families. Even they selling their enchestral properties for seeking job abroad. Sometimes they are victimised by the middlemen.
Speakers hinted, there are thirty textile, spinning and weaving mills but these factories cannot run full of the weeks as they are bound to remain shut for one or two days of a week for shortage of electricity. But owners have to pay wages of the labourers in full.
To minimize the loss industrialists urged the authority concern to extant gas facility by connecting lines of those districts from nearby districts.
Barisal City Corporation Mayor Ahsan Habib Kamal says, “The city corporation area is now 58kms from 25kms but government allocations is far less than other corporations which clearly indicates discriminatory attitude. If government provides gas in this region industries of our city areas will be developed and employment opportunity will be enhanced so that poverty level surely come down.”
Deputy Managing Director of Khansons Group Khan B Rahman said, frequent load shedding hampers production and we have to count huge loss. So, I urged concerned authority to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply so that we can reduce our production cost.
At the same time, “We urge the government to bring Barisal region under national gas supply line. If government unable to bear the cost of construction line we will bear all expenses”, lamented Khan.
He further proposed to allow them to establish a 15-megawatt gas-based power plant in Bhola to run their factories. Rahman also demanded to the concerned authorities should allow even a factory of Sonargaon Textiles Ltd to shift the area where gas facility is available to survive the company.
Opsonin Chemical Industry administrator Saidur Rahman said, “We are running 3 production units. We have to use extra 60 thousand liters of diesel due to power shortage and for that need additional Tk 50 lac as production cost.”
Statistics show gas and electricity production cost ratio 1.50: 4.60, means electricity cost 3 times more than gas production cost. For that reason speakers requested the government to look after the matter very urgently and take remedial measures as soon as possible. Otherwise the country will lose a huge potential development.
No desired development activities were taken place in the southern part of Bangladesh due to lack of gas and available electricity facilities although 43 years of independence already passed.
These were alleged by speakers of a roundtable discussion held recently in Barisal. Elites of the Barisal city and business personalities were present in it.
Although few number of industries were set up by personal initiatives but it is difficult for them to survive as the production cost comperatively higher then other gas-based districts. So, they could not sustain any longer resultant in near ruination.
The worst affected mentionable districts are Barisal, Faridpur and adjoining areas. For this reason, a large number of educated youths are lying unemployed. They compelled to come Dhaka for job just to survive themselves and their families. Even they selling their enchestral properties for seeking job abroad. Sometimes they are victimised by the middlemen.
Speakers hinted, there are thirty textile, spinning and weaving mills but these factories cannot run full of the weeks as they are bound to remain shut for one or two days of a week for shortage of electricity. But owners have to pay wages of the labourers in full.
To minimize the loss industrialists urged the authority concern to extant gas facility by connecting lines of those districts from nearby districts.
Barisal City Corporation Mayor Ahsan Habib Kamal says, “The city corporation area is now 58kms from 25kms but government allocations is far less than other corporations which clearly indicates discriminatory attitude. If government provides gas in this region industries of our city areas will be developed and employment opportunity will be enhanced so that poverty level surely come down.”
Deputy Managing Director of Khansons Group Khan B Rahman said, frequent load shedding hampers production and we have to count huge loss. So, I urged concerned authority to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply so that we can reduce our production cost.
At the same time, “We urge the government to bring Barisal region under national gas supply line. If government unable to bear the cost of construction line we will bear all expenses”, lamented Khan.
He further proposed to allow them to establish a 15-megawatt gas-based power plant in Bhola to run their factories. Rahman also demanded to the concerned authorities should allow even a factory of Sonargaon Textiles Ltd to shift the area where gas facility is available to survive the company.
Opsonin Chemical Industry administrator Saidur Rahman said, “We are running 3 production units. We have to use extra 60 thousand liters of diesel due to power shortage and for that need additional Tk 50 lac as production cost.”
Statistics show gas and electricity production cost ratio 1.50: 4.60, means electricity cost 3 times more than gas production cost. For that reason speakers requested the government to look after the matter very urgently and take remedial measures as soon as possible. Otherwise the country will lose a huge potential development.
