{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreidupmrsgq4ne2z6t4ge326xqzsmo3y7r2r7eyhq26fpexhhberkdi",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:neqfhinxgjyy6qagpbcb6wfe/app.bsky.feed.post/3milkcjgikpd2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreibnbhgazi5ce3gcc6tvnnj6uwbeorx4pcibadk46afzwmxp2pwkvq"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/png",
    "size": 300786
  },
  "path": "/partner/bangladesh-cuts-office-hours-turns-off-wedding-lights-to-save-energy",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-03T10:33:05.000Z",
  "site": "https://nukta.com",
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nBangladesh cut office and shop hours and banned decorative lighting at weddings starting on Friday as it seeks to conserve energy stocks after global price hikes due to the Middle East war.\n\nBangladesh imports 95 percent of its oil and gas needs, mostly from the Middle East and said that, while there are adequate stocks of petrol and diesel, it hopes to mitigate the effects of \"unsecured\" supply lines.\n\nAbout 60 percent of its electricity is generated using imported gas, while diesel is primarily used for farming in the region.\n\nDhaka ordered all government, private offices and banks to shut an hour earlier each day starting Friday until further notice.\n\n\"The fuel supply line is unsecured... both government and private offices will run from 9 AM to 4 PM, while banks will remain open from 9 AM to 3 PM,\" top government secretary Nasimul Gani told reporters at a news briefing late Thursday.\n\nShopping centers, which normally stay open late, will now shut by 6 pm, although stores selling food supplies are expected to keep their usual hours.\n\nDecorative lighting, which was initially banned at malls, has now been extended to include weddings.\n\nWeddings in Bangladesh are celebrations that entertain hundreds of guests at brightly decorated venues and can often co-opt large parts of a neighborhood.\n\nThe government has also asked departments to refrain from purchasing vehicles and computers and to limit money being spent on hospitality costs for work events.\n\nForeign training missions for government officials have also been suspended, while domestic training will be cut by half.\n\nThe measures will reduce at least 30 percent of total fuel consumption, officials estimated.\n\nSchools and colleges could also see schedule changes as the government considers purchasing electric buses for student transport.\n\nBangladesh has said it is seeking loans of around $2 billion from multilateral donors to tackle energy worries.\n\nApart from the latest measures, the government has also set limits on fuel purchases, halted production at most fertiliser factories and deployed police to patrol filling stations that have recently been packed with motorists.\n\nThe government conducted around 5,000 raids and confiscated about 400,000 liters of illegally acquired fuel between March 3 and April 1, a spokesperson for the Fuel and Energy Division said.",
  "title": "Bangladesh cuts office hours, turns off wedding lights to save energy"
}