New Delhi: Within the throes of a serious energy disaster, Bangladesh has ordered buying malls, markets and outlets to shut by 8 pm and is now hoping to hunt further diesel provides from India.
In response to a notification issued by Bangladesh’s Ministry of Energy, Power and Mineral Sources Wednesday, the restrictions prolong past industrial areas. Ongoing and upcoming gala’s and cultural programmes throughout the nation have additionally been directed to conclude by 8 pm, Day by day Star reported. The federal government’s transfer comes as Bangladesh struggles with diminished electrical energy era as a result of disruptions in gasoline and fuel provides.
Energy, Power and Mineral Sources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood final week mentioned Bangladesh had requested India for extra diesel. “We’ve got a pipeline with India by way of which diesel is equipped. We’ve got requested them to supply extra,” he advised reporters on 6 August. He additionally conveyed the identical to Indian Excessive Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi, when the latter paid him a courtesy go to on 7 August.
India acknowledged receiving the request however has not dedicated to supplying further volumes. Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal Tuesday mentioned New Delhi was inspecting Bangladesh’s request for diesel.
The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, which was inaugurated in 2023, provides diesel to Bangladesh below a 15-year settlement protecting 180,000 metric tonnes yearly.
India additionally equipped greater than 30,000 tonnes of diesel to Bangladesh in March and April amid disruptions and uncertainty in world vitality markets due to the West Asia warfare.
The disaster was exacerbated after a hearth at a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Cox’s Bazar in July broken considered one of its two boilers and compelled the ability to droop operations. The disruption diminished Bangladesh’s every day fuel provide to beneath 2,150 million cubic toes per day (mmcfd), in comparison with a median of about 2,700 mmcfd over the previous 12 months, in line with the Dhaka Tribune. By August, the boiler had been repaired, giving some reduction.
India-Bangladesh vitality ties
India’s vitality engagement with Bangladesh developed alongside a broader shift in bilateral relations within the Hasina period. In October 2013, India started exporting electrical energy to Bangladesh, forward of Bangladesh’s January 2014 parliamentary elections.
In March 2016, New Delhi agreed to produce a further 100 megawatts of electrical energy. India additionally provides high-speed diesel to its neighbour.
India-Bangladesh ties nevertheless are at a fragile stage amid fresh tensions over former PM Sheikh Hasina’s public tackle in New Delhi final week, talking by audio hyperlink to journalists gathered on the Overseas Correspondents’ Membership of South Asia. Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman can also be unlikely to attend the BRICS summit in September on India’s invitation, in line with native media.
Indian Excessive Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi later called on Rahman to clean out variations. A high-level delegation, together with the RA&W chief, Parag Jain additionally visited Dhaka this week.
Bangladesh at the moment imports practically 2,500 megawatts of electrical energy from India and is trying to deepen cooperation with its largest power-trading associate because it seeks to strengthen vitality safety.
Final week, Mirana Mahrukh, secretary of Bangladesh’s Energy Division, travelled to India to debate cross-border electrical energy commerce and held discussions with India’s Energy Secretary Pankaj Agarwal. They spoke on a variety of points, together with cross-border electrical energy commerce, transmission interconnections, the Maitree Energy Mission, renewable vitality and energy-storage cooperation.
Bangladesh imports electrical energy from 4 Indian suppliers below separate agreements: Adani Energy, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), Sembcorp Power India and Energy Buying and selling Company of India (PTC India). In the course of the 2024-25 monetary 12 months, Bangladesh imported 8,030 million kilowatt-hours of electrical energy from Adani Energy’s plant in Jharkhand.
Power cooperation between the 2 international locations has been increasing by way of common conferences between their respective energy secretaries. Mahrukh additionally visited Mumbai and Visakhapatnam as a part of efforts to discover additional areas of collaboration.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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