No power cut to factories during WC matches
FE Report | Saturday, 5 March 2011
FE Report
The government is set to cancel its decision to cut power supply to the factories during the cricket World Cup (WC), bringing some sort of relief to their owners as it was taking a heavy toll on them. The government last week decided to stop power supply to the factories in the peak hours between 5pm and 12am till April 2 in an immediate move to divert electricity to households so that the country's cricket- loving people can watch the matches on television. The cancellation order was officially sent to the persons concerned Thursday following verbal protests from the business community who sat with the high-ups of the government on several occasions to demand cancellation of the decision. The 'govt order' also referred to the upcoming HSC (Higher Secondary School Certificate) examination and irrigation. But the decision severely affected the industries, particularly the ready-made garments sector, which contributes nearly 80 per cent to the country's total export earnings. "We've resumed production during the peak hours as the energy adviser to the Prime Minister in a meeting verbally assured us of not executing the order further," BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy said, adding that lifting of the decision of power-cut has already been sent to the authorities concerned. He hoped that the government would soon issue another notification in this regard. The government took a similar step during the World Cup football in 2010, when tens of thousands of people took to the streets and staged violent protests over frequent power outages during key matches.
The government is set to cancel its decision to cut power supply to the factories during the cricket World Cup (WC), bringing some sort of relief to their owners as it was taking a heavy toll on them. The government last week decided to stop power supply to the factories in the peak hours between 5pm and 12am till April 2 in an immediate move to divert electricity to households so that the country's cricket- loving people can watch the matches on television. The cancellation order was officially sent to the persons concerned Thursday following verbal protests from the business community who sat with the high-ups of the government on several occasions to demand cancellation of the decision. The 'govt order' also referred to the upcoming HSC (Higher Secondary School Certificate) examination and irrigation. But the decision severely affected the industries, particularly the ready-made garments sector, which contributes nearly 80 per cent to the country's total export earnings. "We've resumed production during the peak hours as the energy adviser to the Prime Minister in a meeting verbally assured us of not executing the order further," BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy said, adding that lifting of the decision of power-cut has already been sent to the authorities concerned. He hoped that the government would soon issue another notification in this regard. The government took a similar step during the World Cup football in 2010, when tens of thousands of people took to the streets and staged violent protests over frequent power outages during key matches.