Business Standard ·
Energy disruption hits Bangladesh and Pakistan as Gulf crisis worsens
More than 2,000 km (1,200 miles) away on the other side of South Asia, in Pakistan, the government has started a fuel subsidy that went into effect on Wednesday to ease the sharp rise in fuel prices.
In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, Parvin Akter times her cooking to the neighborhood's availability of piped gas. With gas in intermittent supply as a result of a global energy crunch, she now sometimes has to wait until midnight to cook her dinner.
Even switching to an induction cooker has not helped, as power outages often ??leave food half-cooked.
Vehicle owners have to register for the subsidy, however, and the programme is not working smoothly. Mohammad Musharraf, a resident of Karachi, says he has spent days trying to register with his motorcycle and ID card number, but has struggled.
"First of all, you have to register your vehicle. Then you have to register your mobile phone. How can an illiterate person survive if the conditions are so difficult?"