Staff Reporter:
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has urged the people to remain patient in tackling the ongoing gas and power crises caused by the fragile economy left behind by fascism, the war situation in the Middle East and an unwanted accident at one of the country’s two LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminals.
He also strongly criticised the long march programmes organised by opposition parties amid the crisis, saying they should stand by the government to help overcome the situation instead of inciting people by exploiting their suffering.
“If long marches could solve crises, the ruling party would have organised them first,” he said.
The prime minister made the remarks while delivering his concluding speech at the third session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad on Thursday. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad Bir Bikram chaired the session.
Explaining in detail the reasons behind the recent severe gas and power crisis, Tarique Rahman said the crisis had not emerged suddenly. For more than a decade, the previous fascist government had made no effort to extract gas from domestic sources.
He said that even when neighbouring countries were exploring for gas in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh had refrained from drilling wells in its own part of the sea in order to benefit a particular country.
Subsequently, he said, the country became completely dependent on fuel imports from the Middle East. However, just 10 to 12 days after the formation of the current government, a war situation began in the Middle East, creating a major obstacle to oil and gas imports.
In addition, an accident caused by an electric shock at one of the country’s two LNG terminals, or floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), rendered the terminal completely inoperative, bringing the crisis to an extreme level, he said.
In his speech, the prime minister questioned the role the opposition played in the difficult situation caused by the fuel crisis.
Strongly criticising the opposition’s long march with a huge convoy of vehicles, he said it was not appropriate to make any ill attempt by taking advantage of people’s suffering or unnecessarily provoking them.
Recalling that the then government had changed office hours, shortened banking hours and announced additional school holidays in 2022 during the Russia-Ukraine war, Tarique said the government of the time had made the state bankrupt and burdened with debt by installing quick rental power plants in the name of ensuring electricity, but had failed to provide any long-term solution.
Speaking about the incumbent government’s plan and optimism for overcoming the crisis, the prime minister told parliament that it has already taken several steps to tackle the situation and that the crisis will ease over time.
He said the government has a major plan to reduce dependence on imports in the future and transform the country into a self-reliant producer through solar power generation.
