Dhaka's motorbike taxi drivers grapple with high prices and long waiting times, struggling to earn their usual living © MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP
Dhaka: Bangladesh is battling a heatwave and frequent power cuts, as soaring electricity demand outstrips limited generation capacity constrained by shortages linked to the Middle East war.
Temperatures have hit 40C across a swathe of the country of 170 million people, forcing the government to impose load-shedding as demand exceeds supply.
"Neither my children nor I could sleep last night due to frequent power cuts. It was extremely hot," Mashuka Yasmin Mishu, a 35-year-old mother of two from northwestern Pabna district, told AFP on Friday.
"We have had power cuts before, but this year we cannot get electricity for even two hours at a stretch."
The South Asian nation imports 95 percent of its oil and gas, much of it from the Middle East, where energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have been disrupted since war began in late February.
"We have a huge electricity generation capacity, but due to shortages of gas and fuel, we are unable to utilise it," senior energy ministry official Umme Rehana told reporters on Thursday.
Anindya Islam Amit, the junior power minister, told parliament on Friday that electricity demand was 16,000 megawatts, against generation of 14,126 megawatts.
"Limited load-shedding was required," Amit said.
"To maintain fairness, we have decided to introduce limited, experimental load-shedding of 110 megawatts in Dhaka. It is not acceptable that urban residents enjoy comfort while farmers suffer."
Bangladesh has also seen queues lasting several hours at gas stations this week, although Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud has blamed panic buying and insisted the country has enough fuel.
