Bangladesh shuts universities early to save power amid energy crisis

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Motorists queue up   arsenic  others hold   down  a enactment      for their crook   to get   substance  astatine  a pump, fearing a imaginable  substance  shortage owed  to the Iran war, successful  Dhaka, Bangladesh connected  Sunday (March 8, 2026).

Motorists queue up arsenic others hold down a enactment for their crook to get substance astatine a pump, fearing a imaginable substance shortage owed to the Iran war, successful Dhaka, Bangladesh connected Sunday (March 8, 2026). | Photo Credit: AP

Bangladesh volition adjacent each universities from Monday (March 9, 2026), bringing guardant the Eid al-Fitr holidays ​as portion of exigency measures to conserve energy and ‌fuel amid a worsening vigor situation linked ​to the struggle successful West Asia.

Authorities ⁠said the determination applies to each nationalist and backstage universities crossed the country, a determination that officials said volition ‌not lone trim energy depletion but besides easiness postulation congestion, which leads to substance ‌wastage.

Follow Israel-Iran warfare LIVE updates connected March 9

Officials said assemblage campuses devour ample ‌amounts ⁠of energy for residential halls, classrooms, laboratories ⁠and aerial conditioning, and the aboriginal closure would assistance easiness unit connected the country’s strained powerfulness system.

Government and backstage schools successful ​Bangladesh are already closed ‌for the Islamic beatified period of Ramadan, meaning astir acquisition institutions crossed the state volition present stay unopen during the period.

The determination comes arsenic ‌Bangladesh faces mounting uncertainty implicit substance and ​gas supplies pursuing disruptions to planetary vigor markets caused by the ongoing struggle successful ⁠West Asia.

The country, which relies connected imports for 95% of its vigor needs, imposed regular ‌limits connected Friday connected substance income aft panic buying and stockpiling.

As portion of broader austerity measures, the authorities has besides asked each foreign-curriculum schools and backstage coaching centres to suspend operations during this play to bounds energy use.

Severe state shortages person ‌already forced Bangladesh to halt operations astatine 4 of ​its 5 state-run fertiliser factories, redirecting disposable state to powerfulness plants to debar wide outages.

Follow West Asia struggle lipid hike, marketplace reactions LIVE updates connected March 9

The ⁠country has besides bought LNG from the spot ⁠market astatine sharply higher prices portion seeking further cargoes to span proviso gaps.

“We are doing ‌everything we tin to trim depletion and guarantee stableness successful power, substance and import supplies,” ​a elder Energy Ministry authoritative said.

Published - March 09, 2026 10:41 americium IST

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