Claim- Bangladesh is importing coal from countries like Russia, U.S.A, and Argentina
Fact- Coal is being imported from China and Indonesia only
Recently, a claim has gone viral which says, ” Bangladesh is importing coal from Russia, Argentina, Brazil or America.” Several posts doing rounds on social media regarding the ongoing power crisis in Bangladesh, recently. The viral posts related to coal import can be seen here, here, here, here, here, & here.
See screenshots of the viral posts-
courtesy: Tik Tok/ user
courtesy: Tik Tok/ user
Newschecker-Bangladesh has found these viral claims to be false.
Factcheck/Verification
According to the news reports the Power Development Board ( PDB) is importing coal only from China and Indonesia to overcome the ongoing power crisis. see the reports here- বিবিসি
Several power generation plants that produce 33 percent of the total power in the country are suffering from a fuel crisis. These plants solely depended on imported coals. Owing to the dollar crisis, the opening of Letter of Credit (LC) for the banks is not possible and this is hampering the import in the country. And therefore, the supply of fuel coal required for power generation cannot be ensured. See reports here- প্রথম আলো, বিবিসি .
courtesy: Prothom Alo
A few thermal power plants in Bangladesh have stopped functioning owing to fuel crisis and that has resulted in load sheddings all across the country. See the report- Here.
Following the situation, the news of importing coal from different countries went viral on social media, particularly on Tik Tok. Some posts claim coal is being imported from Oman, while others say coal is being imported from Russia, Argentina, and U.S. Newschecker has earlier debunked the viral claim that said Bangladesh is importing coal from Oman, this report can be seen here.
However, the concerned ministry has released a circular saying that measures have been taken to import coal to solve the ongoing fuel crisis. Meanwhile, a ship carrying 26 thousand 620 metric tons of coal from China has arrived at Mongla Port for the Bagerhat Rampal power generation plant. On the other hand, according to a report, 37 thousand metric tons of coal have already been imported for Payra thermal power plant through the new LC.
Planning Minister MA Mannan told reporters on the Minister of State for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources that power supply will be normal within the next two weeks. Coal is arriving on ships to run power plants.
Conclusion:
Coal is known to have been imported from China and Indonesia, but no reliable data has been found on any coal imports from Brazil, America, Russia, and Argentina.
Result: False
Our Sources:
প্রথম আলো, বিবিসি
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