Shanchita Shitu

For families in several parts of Dhaka, the gas crisis is no longer simply a cooking problem. Many households are paying monthly gas bills to the government authority despite receiving little or no gas, while also spending more on electricity, LPG, restaurant meals and other alternatives to cope with the shortage. In Dhanmondi 7/A, residents said they had not received any gas for the past two months but had continued to pay their bills to Titas Gas.

Gas supply has begun recovering with the arrival of fresh LNG cargoes, easing some of the severe shortages that disrupted power generation and industrial production across Bangladesh in recent weeks. But the relief masks a much bigger problem: the country still faces a daily gas deficit of around 1.3 billion cubic feet, with no quick solution in sight.

Sweltering heat and prolonged power cuts are disrupting daily life across Bangladesh, with some rural areas facing 10-12 hours of load-shedding a day. The outages are disrupting agriculture, small businesses, grocery shops, workshops and online work, while students and employees are struggling to work and study. Children, elderly people and the ill are suffering the most, particularly during nighttime outages. The crisis is mainly being blamed on a shortage of fuel, particularly natural gas.