Has India Stopped Supplying Electricity to Bangladesh? No, Viral Claim Is False
As per recent reports, Bangladesh has reversed its decision of banning Hilsa fish exports to India.
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A post is doing the rounds on the internet claiming that India has recently stopped supplying electricity to Bangladesh as the government doesn't have the money to pay for the service.
What is the claim?: An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the claim saying that following the stoppage of electricity supply by India, Bangladesh has banned the export of Hilsa fish to the former.
The post above had managed to over four lakh views on the platform at the time of writing this report. (Archives of similar such claims can be found here, here, and here.)
Are these claims true?: While there are recent reports indicating that Bangladesh banned export of Hilsa fish to India, however, India has not stopped supplying electricity to Bangladesh as per recent available data.
No news reports or information in public domain: We performed several keyword searches on Google but couldn't come across any news reports that supported the claim of India stopping electricity supply to Bangladesh.
A report published in Times of India said that the chairman of the Adani Group, Gautam Adani, had written to the Bangladesh government for the settlement of around $800 million dues for electricity.
These dues were owed by the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).
Adani had highlighted the need for immediate action to address the outstanding payments, as they caused financial strain on the company.
Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Yunus' top energy adviser, acknowledged the backlog and said that the total power liabilities stood at $3.7 billion, out of which around $492 million was owed to Adani Power.
The report was published on 10 September 2024.
(Source: TOI/Screenshot)
What does official data say?: Team WebQoof found the daily report published on the official website of National Load Despatch Centre (GRID-INDIA).
As per 22 September report, India had supplied around 37.27 million units of electricity. The figure for 16 September was 41.16 million units, 55.95 million units on 2 September, 41.07 million units was supplied on 24 August.
These data figures clearly show that India has not stopped supplying electricity to Bangladesh as claimed in the viral post.
The data is from 22 September.
(Source: GRID-INDIA/Screenshot)
Bangladesh's daily report: As per the daily report available on the official website of Power Grid Bangladesh, we could corroborate the details and conclude that India is indeed supplying electricity to Bangladesh.
The report was published on 23 September.
(Source: Power Grid Bangladesh/Screenshot)
Reports of Hilsa exports being banned: After initial reports of exports of Hilsa fish to India being banned, the interim government in Bangladesh has now revoked its decision and allowed the export of around 3,000 tonnes of fish ahead of the Durga Puja festival.
Conclusion: Evidently, the claim is misleading as India has not stopped supplying to electricity to Bangladesh.
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