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The government has instructed people to switch off all decorative illuminations at parties, community centres, shopping malls, shops, offices and houses to deal with the ongoing energy crunch facing Bangladesh.
A directive from the Cabinet Division on Thursday said decorative lights cannot be used until further instructions “to save power amid the abnormal rise of fuel prices around the world”.
The directive was sent to all deputy commissioners and Upazila Nirbahi Officers or UNOs in the country, reports bdnews24.com.
The Russia-Ukraine war sent fuel prices soaring worldwide. The Sheikh Hasina administration has resorted to regular power cuts to compensate for the lack of power production in the country.
According to the government, a 9.0 per cent gap between power demand and production has forced the authorities’ hands.
On Thursday, Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the prime minister, said several recommendations will be sent to the cabinet to resolve the crisis. These include resuming remote office from home similar to pandemic times, and cutting down on office hours, among others.
Prime Minister Hasina has stressed the need to practise austerity in electricity consumption and suggested scaling down power production.
She pointed out that the government was finding it increasingly difficult to keep power plants running as operational costs continue to spiral.