The giant structures of the Ashuganj fertiliser factory have stood silent for more than a year, as a natural gas crisis shuts industries, triggers power cuts and sparks protests over fuel shortages.
Machinery once ran around the clock, using natural gas to produce urea that farmers depended on to grow crops for the country’s 170 million people.
Now the state-owned factory, which once employed more than 1,200 people and produced more than 1,000 tonnes of fertiliser a day, is a rusting shell.
Ashuganj closed in March 2025, with the country battered by a gas shortage sparked by a plunge in production owing to underinvestment in ageing fields and exploration, while the US-Iran conflict has choked imports from the Middle East.
“Only the skeleton of the factory remains,” said Md Bazlur Rashid, 59, who spent his entire working life at Ashuganj. “It has lost its life.”
The factory is one of six major urea fertiliser plants that have been forced to close down or restrict operations because of gas shortages.
Trade union leader Md Abu Kawsar said the shutdowns had cost workers their jobs while threatening an industry linked to food security.
“You cannot simply let these factories sit idle and allow them to deteriorate,” he said.
But the consequences of the gas shortage extend far beyond production.
Households, which account for just over a tenth of the country’s gas consumption, have also been hit.
“We don’t get a drop of gas overnight,” said housewife Nargis Begum, 50, who lives close to the Ashuganj factory.
Many households, particularly in rural areas, have switched to wood-burning stoves, while electricity cuts leave residents without fans in the sweltering humidity.
“There is no let-up in our suffering,” said Begum. “There is no guarantee of electricity. Last night, there were three or four outages.”
Gas-powered rickshaw drivers have also blocked roads in protest after hours waiting for fuel.
The shortages are the result of a crisis that has been building for years.
Bangladesh was largely self-sufficient in natural gas in 2018, but production declined as older fields depleted, while demand has risen, with Qatar providing key imports.
Experts say successive governments have failed to invest sufficiently in exploration. — AFP
