The Voice, 14 August – Severe gas shortage has brought production at around 200 factories in Habiganj to a standstill, leaving more than 200,000 workers and employees without work and causing industries to suffer losses of hundreds of crores of taka every day.
The crisis had persisted for around 20 days with limited gas supplies, but the situation worsened on Wednesday when gas supplies to industrial units were completely cut off. Many of the affected factories are export-oriented, raising concerns over shipment delays and cancellation of foreign orders.
Officials and industry representatives said the disruption could have a wider impact on Bangladesh’s economy if the gas shortage is not resolved quickly.
Mohammad Ruhul Karim Chowdhury, deputy general manager of Jalalabad Gas Transmission and Distribution System Limited, said the gas crisis was a national problem that had emerged in the last week of July.
He said gas supplies had been increased to power plants to maintain electricity generation, resulting in reduced supplies to industrial consumers. He expressed hope that the situation could be resolved within three to four days.
Habiganj has 171 small and large companies, according to industry sources. More than 50 of them are fully export-oriented, while others have partial export operations. Many of the export-oriented factories rely on captive power plants that run on natural gas rather than electricity supplied through the grid.
A senior official of a large industrial group said the company operates seven factories, most of them export-oriented. The factories require around 14 million standard cubic feet (mmscfd) of gas daily but had been receiving only around 3 mmscfd for several days. Gas supplies were completely stopped from midnight on Wednesday, forcing all production units to shut down.
Badsha Pioneer’s General Manager (Administration) Mohammad Khairul Alam said the company had 16,000 workers, officials and employees who were now idle. The company is suffering losses of around Tk 5 crore a day, he said. The company’s spinning, textile and garment units are fully export-oriented, and several major foreign orders are now at risk.
Abul Bashar, general manager of SM Spinning, said gas supplies had been suspended from 4pm on Wednesday. The company’s daily production of yarn, he said, had come to a complete halt, causing losses of around $121,600 every day. As the company is entirely export-oriented, delayed shipments are already putting foreign orders at risk.
Sayham Group’s General Manager Engineer Mohammad Rezaul Haque said gas supplies had been irregular since July 22, with the company receiving only one-third or one-fourth of its requirement at times. Supplies were completely cut off from around 11:30am on Wednesday, leaving around 27,000 workers and employees without work.
Other major companies, including PRAN-RFL Group and Square Denim, have also reported complete production shutdowns because of the gas shortage. Square Denim said around 3,000 workers had been left idle and the company was unable to meet buyers’ orders or maintain scheduled shipments.
Industry representatives said the present crisis is unprecedented for many of the factories, which had previously managed to maintain production despite periodic gas shortages.
Jalalabad Gas has reportedly issued several letters in recent days concerning reductions or suspension of gas supplies, but the notices did not clearly explain the reasons for the cuts.
Business leaders have urged the authorities to restore gas supplies immediately, warning that prolonged shutdowns could lead to further production losses, cancellation of export orders, unemployment and a broader negative impact on Bangladesh’s economy.
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