Bangladesh shortens business and school hours to save power: Due to worries about increasing gasoline costs and the effects of the Ukraine conflict, schools in Bangladesh will close one extra day every week, cutting the length of their workdays by one hour. The shortened hours start on Wednesday.
Most schools in Bangladesh close on Fridays. But as of this week, they will also be closed on Saturdays. According to Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam.
He said private workplaces would permitted to determine their timetables. But that government and banking institutions would reduce their workdays from eight to seven hours. The conflict in Ukraine has disrupted supplies, which has prompted oil and food costs to skyrocket globally.
Recently, Bangladesh has taken steps to reduce the strain on its shrinking foreign exchange reserves. Fuel costs increased by more than 50% last month.
According to the administration, it is looking into possibilities for a unique agreement to get cheaper petroleum from Russia.
The administration acknowledged that the move has received criticism. But insisted that it is vital to reduce losses given the growing global gasoline costs.
In response to recent minor public demonstrations over price hikes. The administration said local prices would reduce if global prices began to decline. In addition, since the government shut down all diesel-powered power facilities. The nation has seen more frequent power outages, resulting in a 1,000-megawatt reduction in daily energy output.
However, to sustain the nation’s $416 billion economy, which has been expanding quickly over the last ten years, officials have committed to keeping delivering electricity to industrial zones. The opposition in the nation has charged the administration with failing to end energy sector losses and curtail corruption.
After Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh requested an undetermined loan from the International Monetary Fund in July, becoming the third government in South Asia to do so lately. However, Bangladesh is not in a crisis, according to Rahul Anand, a division head in the Asia and Pacific Department of the IMF, who said this at a recent consultation.
Additionally, Bangladesh’s external position is “quite different from numerous countries in the area.”
Bangladesh is highly different from Sri Lanka and has a minimal danger of financial distress, him, according to the Dhaka-based Business Standard Daily. Bangladesh’s foreign exchange holdings are now just around $40 billion.
