Bangladesh protesters accuse government of failing to resolve electricity crisis

Protesters in Bangladesh denounced prolonged power outages, rising energy costs, and higher commodity prices, accusing the government of failing to deliver improvements promised before the election.

“It takes talent and qualification to run a country. You cannot run a country without them,” one protester said, criticizing the energy minister over comments about electricity disruptions.

Protesters said Gopalganj district was experiencing electricity outages lasting 10 to 12 hours a day and complained that power sometimes returned only briefly before going out again.

“People are exhausted seeing the electricity bills; electricity does not come regularly,” another protester said. “It doesn’t stay; it comes occasionally, flickers, and then goes away again.”

The protesters also directly addressed Tarique Rahman, saying Bangladesh should advance rather than return to conditions they associated with the 1980s.

“We are in the 21st century; we will move forward. We want to turn the country into Singapore or Malaysia. We don’t want this kind of country,” a protester said.

They also accused the Bangladesh Nationalist Party government of failing to keep promises made before the election.

“Before the election, we saw the BNP claiming that all problems would be solved after the election,” a protester said. “But after the election, we see rising oil prices and no electricity.”

The protesters demanded that the government quickly address problems involving oil, gas, and electricity and said they were prepared to take to the streets over the electricity crisis.

Rahman has apologized for the energy crisis.