Magic Juice for Machines: What Are We Burning?
Fuel is the lifeblood of our city. It is the energy that makes heavy machines move. Crude oil is the raw stuff we buy from other countries. We turn it into things like diesel. Diesel is very important for big industries. It runs massive cranes and forklifts. It powers the generators when the lights go out. Without this fuel, the heavy metal hearts of our factories stop beating. Our country needs 2.60 lakh metric tons of this oil just to stay secure.
Empty Tanks and Empty Pockets: The Price of a Dry Port
Our industries are hurting badly. The fuel tanks are half empty. Big steel makers like BSRM need 35,000 litres of diesel every single day. They are only getting about 18,000 to 27,000 litres lately. That is a big gap. Shipbreaking yards are also suffering. One yard invested 70 crore Taka to be modern and green. Now they only get half the diesel they need. They might have to stop everything soon. This costs a lot of money. It makes production costs go way up. When fuel is missing, the price of everything else starts to climb.
Factories Fight Back: The Industrial Reaction
The factories are not just sitting still. They are reacting in ways that hurt our wallets. First, they are scaling back their work. Some are even halting operations entirely. They are also raising the prices of their products. This puts pressure on the whole construction sector. In the garment sector, workers are staying late. They have to work extra hours to meet deadlines because of power cuts. Industry leaders are writing letters to the government for help. If the fuel does not flow, the machines will stay quiet.
Operation Survival: Can We Outrun the War?
The war far away makes things hard here. But Bangladesh is trying to survive. The government is buying oil from many places like Kazakhstan and Indonesia. We are even getting diesel through a pipeline from India. Ships from Malaysia and Singapore are arriving at our port right now. The government has put tag officers at every petrol pump. They are watching to make sure no one steals or hides the fuel. They have already seized over 87,000 litres of hoarded fuel. We are rationing what we have to make it last. We hope the ships keep coming through the dangerous seas.
War is a disaster for the economy. Iran has a secret weapon: oil. This war breaks the global oil market. Tensions rose after attacks involving Iran, the US, and Israel. Some of these fights targeted US army bases. This conflict blocks the Strait of Hormuz. This is a main path for oil ships. When this path closes, our fuel stops moving. It is a high stakes game that makes our factories go cold.
“War is a monstrous lack of imagination.” — Franz Kafka
– Opinion | Daily ScrollDown