PM Hasina aptly calls upon all to maintain austerity in electricity use: Information Minister

Information and broadcasting minister Hasan Mahmud on Thursday said prime minister Sheikh Hasina aptly called upon all to act responsibly and maintain austerity in electricity use.

“Developed countries including France also made such a call to people. I request our critics to encourage the people to this end,” he told newspersons while exchanging views on contemporary issues at his secretariat office.

Urging the critics to take a look at global situation, he said the entire world is facing fuel crisis due to coronavirus pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict as both fuel price and carrying cost rose indiscriminately.

Hasan, also joint general secretary of ruling Awami League, said the Australian authorities called upon thousands of families to save electricity as the people of different provinces are experiencing severe load shedding for 10 to 18 hours a day.

Europe that never faces electricity cut is now also witnessing load shedding while the United Nations Security Council’s permanent member France is also calling upon its people to save electricity.

The minister said Bangladesh’s power sector is actually based on fuel as all coal-based power plants are yet to join in power generation completely.

That is why, the government gave Tk 28,000 crore (280 billion) subsidy in power sector and Tk 25,000 crore 9250 billion) in energy sector, he mentioned.

Even after that the prime minister reached electricity every house in a developing country like Bangladesh, he said.

He said hurricane lamp, once which was very popular in Bangladesh when power generation capacity and electricity coverage was very low, has become a tool to keep in show-case as it had no use now.

“Before our assuming office, below 40 per cent people got electricity facilities in the country. Today, electricity reached doorsteps of cent percent people,” he said.

Though the electricity reached doorsteps, the call for using it maintaining austerity is not a mistake by any means, he said.

“When we will not stay in room, it can never be a good thing to keep switches of lights or fans on,” he said.

He asked the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which is making criticism over the prime minister’s call to try to remember the situation in power sector during their government tenure.

“What you have done. When people demanded electricity you shot people dead,” he said.

Referring to pictures published in several newspapers during BNP’s period, he mentioned a headline ‘People carry out vandalism without getting electricity, police open fire in Narsingdi’.

Another headline was ‘People killed for bringing out protest procession for electricity’, he mentioned.

He also mentioned some headlines ‘Severe electricity crisis in Dhaka, classes going on by lighting candles’, ‘People besieges Bidyut Bhaban in Chattogram, demonstrations with hurricane, lamps’.

He said those who feel proud of giving their identity as intellectuals and make criticism of the government with or without reasons, they are now feeling bone in their throats due to their criticism over the Padma Bridge in the past.

So, don’t make irrational criticism over the issue, he warned.

About BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s comments, “There will be no benefit building a thousand Padma Bridges as there is no freedom of expression”, Hasan said if that is true how he and other BNP leaders make comments from morning to night.

A top responsible politician cannot make a comment that Padma Bridge will not be beneficial rather it can only be comments of those insane who give speeches standing on road islands, he mentioned.