In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh , Parvin Akter times her cooking to the neighborhood’s availability of piped gas. With gas in intermittent supply as a result of a global energy crunch, she now sometimes has to wait until midnight to cook her dinner.
Vehicle owners have to register for the subsidy, however, and the programme is not working smoothly. Others had to take on additional expenses after energy-related production delays forced them to send finished products by plane to meet deadlines. Fazlul Hoque of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry pointed to a directive to fix a non-functional LNG terminal, which would help more tankers unload.
More than 2,000 km (1,200 miles) away on the other side of South Asia, in Pakistan , the government has started a fuel subsidy that went into effect on Wednesday to ease the sharp rise in fuel prices. Bangladesh draws more than 40% of its electricity from imported LNG, and disruptions in deliveries from Qatar – once the source of 95% of those imports – have forced Dhaka to chase costlier cargoes on the spot market. Garment industry executive Fazlee Shamim Ehsan said his factory had to pay $50,000 to send hoodie jackets by air freight to a French buyer.
Because he cannot run the electric fans needed to cool his sheds, in Tangail city, poultry farmer Sayedul Islam said power outages are killing 15 to 20 of his birds a day.
Mohammad Musharraf, a resident of Karachi , says he has spent days trying to register with his motorcycle and ID card number, but has struggled. “Industrial growth is slowing down, and production is going down,” Power Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud said this week. “On top of that, we’ve had to spend extra money on diesel just to keep the factory running,” said Ehsan, who is the managing director of Fatullah Apparels Ltd. The government has said it is seeking solutions. “We used to eat meat once a week, but now it is difficult to afford it even once a month,” said Amesh Gul, 32, a rickshaw driver in Karachi whose income has taken a hit with rising fuel prices. “All I ask of the government is to please take care of poor people.”
