Gas crisis to be resolved within a week-and-a-half, says Rizvi

BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has said that the ongoing gas crisis will be resolved within a week-and-a-half.

He made the remark while responding to questions raised by journalists at an event in the capital today (Wednesday) The Dhaka North City unit of the BNP organised the event in the Bashundhara area to mark the party’s 48th founding anniversary.

Rizvi said, “There was a technical problem at the gas terminal in Maheshkhali, and that has now been largely fixed. Once the gas is replenished there, you will see that, God willing, a steady gas supply will be restored and the gas crisis will be resolved within a week to a week and a half.”

He said, “The stoves in kitchens that are now burning intermittently due to the gas shortage will burn normally again. The fuel needed in adequate quantities for mills and factories will, God willing, be ensured within a week to a week and a half. This is the government’s commitment.”

“To alleviate the suffering of the people, the government has already allocated an additional Tk 40,000 crore for the rapid purchase of LNG and fuel. This is over and above the allocation for the fuel sector in the budget. The government is not sitting idle,” he added.

Rizvi said the current fuel crisis was not caused by any fault of the present government. “Most fuel-carrying ships and cargoes come through the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and everyone is afraid that mines and bombs have been planted there. Bombs are also falling from the air. Since a war is going on, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been suspended. As a result, the gas crisis is a global crisis. To find ways to resolve this crisis, our government has taken initiatives in Malaysia, Indonesia and other places and has taken measures to address it as quickly as possible.”

Asked about opposition parties’ protests over the gas crisis, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said, “If you are a constructive opposition, then you have to raise the issue of why there is a gas crisis. But if the objective is to put the government in trouble and fish in troubled waters, then that is a different matter. The government gives the highest priority to the interests of the people and has not taken any step against their interests so far. That is why the prime minister’s popularity has increased, and the BNP’s popularity has also increased.”