Staff Reporter :
The people of the country won’t get relief from the grip of the load shedding in a short span of time as the whole country is now experiencing severe power outage.
Besides, the appropriate authority has to pay about $ 1.5 billion as capacity payment, which will be increased more due to load shedding, sources said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources said that the power generation is being hampered due to the shortage of gas supply which pushes frequent power outage in the capital as well as the country disrupting the production in factories and causing the lives of people miserable amid the shooting up mercury.
Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said she is thinking of introducing area-based load shedding for a specific time to save the fuel that is used for power generation.
UNB adds: “Today, I think that I will tell (authority concerned) to reduce electricity production for some time (everyday) to save the fuel that is used for power generation,” she said.
The Prime Minister said this at the PGR Headquarters in Dhaka Cantonment to mark the President’s Guard Regiment’s (PGR) founding anniversary. She joined the programme from her official residence Ganobhaban.
She said that the country witnessed 8-10 hours of power cuts in the past from where her government, taking over office in 2009, increased the electricity generation ensuring an uninterrupted power supply in the country.
She mentioned that the government has accomplished a feat reaching electricity to every house.
The PM said there won’t be any indiscriminate load shedding. It will be announced earlier for a specific area and for a specific time, she added.
“If we specify the time for load shedding for specific areas… If we take that step from now on… we will be able to save ourselves from the much harder days coming ahead,” she said.
Talking about the recent economic turmoil across the globe due to the impact of coronavirus pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war, she said that the prices of fuel oil have soared.
As a result that there is scarcity of power in many countries around the world, she said.
She said that the prices of electricity-producing like diesel, fuel oil, LNG, have increased heavily.
Besides, transportation has been hampered due to the Russia-Ukraine war compounding the crisis, she said. She added that even coal is not available.
Hasina reiterated her call to maintain austerity and increase savings which will be beneficial to face any type of crisis in the future.
“If every family resorts to pro-savings mentality and utilise their own lands for optimum productivity (of food grains), it will bring positive results,” she said.
She reiterated her call not to leave single inch of land uncultivated and make sure no water body remains unutilised.
“All empty places have to be utilised for production, whatever it is. We have to try to produce our own foods to reduce pressure on the market and make profit through selling the surplus foods,” the premier said.
She said that every person, family and organisation have to take that step.
Hasina said that many countries including the USA and the Great Britain facing higher inflation amid scarcity of power.
“We have to remain alert from the very beginning, if we remain cautious inshallah we will not face any problem,” she asserted. “I can say that and I will request everyone to do so.”
Talking about the development of the armed forces following the Forces Goal 2030, the Prime Minister said, “We will not fight with any one, we want peace, the father of the nation gave us the defence policy which is friendship to all, malice to none. We follow that policy.”
Turning to the opening of the Padma Bridge she said, Bangladesh constructed the much-cherished bridge with its own resources.
“Those who wanted to malign Bangladesh, or humiliate me and my family members, minister, advisor and secretary through corruption allegations have got a befitting reply after we built the bridge with our own fund,” she said.
The PM said “Padma Bridge is the expression of our independence, sovereignty and unique ethnicity.”
She mentioned that this one decision changed the attitude of the whole world regarding Bangladesh.
