Gas supplies have been fully shut off to 171 industrial factories in Habiganj, Bangladesh, halting production and leaving more than 150,000 workers idle, the report said. Supplies had been limited for the previous 20 days before being cut completely from Wednesday. The disruption is causing reported daily losses of more than Tk1,000 crore, while foreign orders are being cancelled or face cancellation because export shipments cannot be completed on time.

Managers at Jamuna Industrial Park, Badsha Pioneer, SM Spinning, Sayham Group, Habiganj Industrial Park and Square Denim said their factories had stopped operating after gas supplies ended. Several companies are fully export-oriented and rely on captive power systems for electricity, meaning production and internal power generation have both been affected. Officials cited idle workers, stopped output and risks to existing orders.

Jalalabad Gas T&D System Limited Deputy General Manager Md Ruhul Karim Chowdhury said the shortage is a national problem that began in late July. He said gas supply to power-generation centres was increased to maintain electricity production, forcing supplies to industries to be curtailed. He said the problem could be resolved within three to four days.