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garment sectors are also facing a working capital shortfall owing to the devaluation of the taka against the US dollar and a shortage of US dollars in the banking system.

Moreover, the bank interest rate varies between 15 percent to 16 percent, making capital harder to access.

Anwar ul Alam Chowdhury, president of the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries, said if there is no growth in industries, they ultimately fall sick. The proposed price hike will not be viable now as the industries are going through a tough time, he added.

Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, echoed Chowdhury’s views.

Moazzem said incidents of gas leaks are also higher in Bangladesh, which indicates that the sector lacks governance.

The gas price hike may not increase the gas supply, he said adding that even hiking prices may not be enough to end the crisis. So, it is a lame excuse that LNG supply will be increased by hiking the gas price, he said.

Masrur Reaz, chairman of the Policy Exchange of Bangladesh said the textile, garment and steel sectors will be hit hardest by the price hike.

He also believed the gas supply may not increase even prices are hiked.

Razeeb Haider, managing director of Outpace Spinning Mills Ltd, urged the government to explore gas in order to reduce the dependence on expensive imported LNG.

In the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on July 1, the subsidy allocation is likely to be Tk 112,000 crore, up from Tk 100,174 crore in the outgoing fiscal year.

The power sector is likely to get Tk 42,000 crore in FY25. The government had earmarked Tk 35,000 crore in FY24. Before FY22, the subsidy allocation for the power sector was between Tk 7,000 crore and Tk 9,000 crore.