বঙ্গাব্দের জন্মকথা

 Middle East flames scorch Bengal's rice pot

Daily Earth NewsPaper,

BY PROGGA DAS

'n the context of I the twenty-first century, fuel oil is not merely a mineral resource; it is the bloodstream of modern civiliza-tion. No sector-agriculture, industry, electricity, trans-portation, food supply, healthcare, or construction-can function without it. When a fuel crisis emerges, it ceases to be just a shortage; it becomes a disrup-tion in the very circulation of an econ-omy's lifeblood.

The world's most sensitive maritime chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz, has become the epicenter of escalating confrontation between Iran and the United States. What began as a shadow conflict has now taken the shape of direct confrontation. As a result, not only has the movement of oil tankers been disrupted, but the normal rhythm of life for people in Bangladesh has also been severely affected.

The searing heat of the Persian Gulf's desert and the flames of war are now spreading into the rice pots of ordinary households across Bengal. This is no longer an ordinary crisis; it is the ominous footstep of a looming famine. A recent analysis by Zero Carbon Analytics suggests that this Middle Eastern crisis could raise Bangladesh's fuel import costs by 4.8 billion dollars-40 percent higher than in 2025. This additional expense equals 1.1 percent of the country's GDP.

While this figure may appear numeri-cally modest, its real-world implications are far more alarming: people waiting 5-7 hours in lines at fuel stations only to return empty-handed; farmers unable to irrigate their fields; factories standing silent; and wage earners weeping in the darkness of night.

Since disruptions began around the Strait of Hormuz, Bangladesh's fuel crisis has intensified dramatically. The country depends on imports for 95 percent of its fuel needs. Unlike devel-oped nations, Bangladesh has never

maintained large-scale strate-gic petroleum reserves. Its fuel usage has long resembled a hand-to-mouth existence-imported today, consumed tomorrow. In this context, the closure of the Strait has magnified the severity of the crisis to unprecedented levels.

The power sector stands on the brink of collapse. According to data from the Bangladesh Power Development Board, 23 percent of power plants are shut down due to gas shortages. Peak demand stands at 18,500 megawatts, yet production has fallen below 16,000.

The industrial sector is in equally dire condition. In major industrial zones, production has dropped to less than half due to shortages of gas and fuel. Many large export-oriented facto-ries have reduced working hours, and some are on the verge of permanent closure to minimize losses.

The fuel crisis is no longer confined to factories; it has reached classrooms. To conserve energy, educational insti-tutions are considering reduced hours and a return to online classes. The his-tory of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that online education brought little benefit and, in many ways, stunted the intellectual develop-

ment of an entire generation. Being forced down that road again is deeply troubling.

The most devastating impact, how-ever, is being felt in agriculture. A sig-nificant portion of Bangladesh's irriga-tion system relies on diesel-powered pumps. With fuel shortages, farmers cannot irrigate their fields, fertilizer production is disrupted, and trans-portation costs for agricultural goods have skyrocketed. Consequently, the flames of Middle Eastern conflict are now burning fiercely in the simple plates of rice and salt consumed by hardworking farmers.

In this century, oil is the force with-out which a nation becomes paralyzed. When transportation stalls due to fuel shortages, supply chains collapse, and the ultimate consequence of a broken supply chain is famine. The anguish visible today, if prolonged, will trans-form food scarcity from a fear into a grim reality.

Under the pretext of volatility in the global oil market, domestic inflation has already stabbed the lower and middle classes in the back. The war cries and displays of power between global actors may serve as instruments of supremacy for world leaders, but for ordinary people in Bengal, they

represent a theft of the right to survive.

If the conflict continues and the fuel crisis becomes prolonged, food pro-duction will decline, employment will shrink, and poverty will intensify. Social instability will inevitably follow. Experts warn that the current fuel cri-sis may surpass the oil shocks of the 1970s in severity-not merely because prices have risen, but because supply itself has been interrupted.

Diplomatic statements alone are insufficient to overcome this situation. Under the authority of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, strategic reserves must be expanded urgently to cover at least several months of demand. At the same time, reliance on a single region must be reduced by ensuring alternative supply sources and routes. Dependence on oil in the power and agricultural sectors must be reduced through a transition toward solar, wind, and LNG-based systems. Fuel efficiency in public transportation must be increased, and strict measures should be taken to prevent wastage. Incentive programs can also be intro-duced at the citizen level to encourage energy conservation as a habit.

If military tensions among major powers shatter global supply chains and trigger famine in vulnerable countries, the moral responsibility for that damage must also fall upon those warring nations. Yet in reality, no one accepts responsibility, while ordinary working people in Bengal bear the suffering.

Therefore, there is no alternative to immediate, farsighted decision-mak-ing. Otherwise, this fire will spread into the very structure of the state, damaging the economy, governance, and social order. Government, admin-istration, and citizens at all levels must work collectively to overcome this fuel crisis. Only then can the country emerge from this ordeal and begin a renewed journey toward a resilient Bangladesh.

Progga Das is a Student, Department of Economics Eden Mohila College She can be reached at proggadas2005@gmail.com