Forex reserve fall is the actual reason behind the closure of diesel-fired plants: BNP

BNP claimed that the government has decided to shut all diesel-run plants as it cannot import fuel due to the fall in forex reserve.

Party’s standing committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku came up with the reaction while addressing the journalists at Party Chief Khaleda Zia's Gulshan office on Monday soon after the government announced to shut all diesel-run plants. 

He said: "The government didn’t take the measures of area-wise load-shedding and keeping diesel-run power plants shut in order 
to minimize power crisis. Actually, it failed to import fuel due to the forex reserve fall. The less we use electricity, the less the government has to import fuel."

He questioned that why would the government take the measure while it claimed to produce cent percent electricity.

He questioned further : "The government claimed that ee have outmastered Singapore and Bangkok in terms of reserving foreign currency. Where is the reserve now? I am holding the government sole responsible for the crisis."

"My question is why should people pay for electricity now as they are going to face forced load-shedding," he added.

He continued: "As per the government plan, the government will produce 64 percent electricity while the rest will be produced by the non-government companies. Later, the government handed all base-plants over to the private sector all of a sudden. I believe this decision was made outof ill intention."

Mentioning that the government did not act as they should have to do, he stated:" If the government keep producing electricity by its own arrangement, we wouldn’t face thd situation." 

"The private-run companies will be the gainers now as the government will pay them for nothing. And the countrymen will bear the cost, they will be the losers. The nation will pay the prices and will bear the suffering for a long time."

"The government should keep producing electricity by its own and let the private companies to handle the transmission and distribution works. Government shouldn’t go door to door to collect electricity bills. But, this government did the opposite. Now we are facing the crisis due to tge wrong decision made the government," he added.

He stated that non but a fascist government can take such decision.