The LPG gas shortage in Barishal is no longer a temporary inconvenience. It has become a question of survival for millions. When the sole breadwinners of nearly fifty thousand families stand in line for hours and still fail to get gas, a natural question arises: whose interests is Muhammad Yunus’s so-called government, which came to power illegally, actually serving? A non-government that seized power by unleashing the July riots nationwide, backed by foreign funding and aided by militant groups, does it really care about the lives of ordinary citizens?
The story of people like Abdur Razzak is painfully familiar. He supports a family of six and is the only earning member. He is surviving by spending his meagre savings, but that money will run out one day. What happens to these families then? Will Yunus and his entourage answer these questions, or will they remain busy calculating how to cling to power?
During the sixteen years of Awami League governance, CNG drivers in Barishal and across the country were able to earn their livelihoods regularly. Gas shortages never reached such an extreme level. So why has this crisis emerged under just sixteen months of Yunus’s rule? Why has the import management system collapsed so badly? Why have filling stations gone days without gas? Yunus has no credible answers to these questions.
A government that is not elected by the people and has no accountability has little reason to care about public suffering. This non-government that came to power through a coup is focused on pleasing foreign patrons, maintaining ties with militant organizations, and retaining the support of the military. The lives and livelihoods of ordinary people do not appear anywhere on their list of priorities.
LPG import is a routine administrative matter that a competent government can handle with ease. But since Yunus’s so-called government is essentially a power-grabbing group, expecting competence from them is futile. That Yunus, who became a billionaire by extracting interest from the poor in the name of microcredit, is adept at kicking the poor in the stomach is hardly new.
The suffering of CNG drivers in Barishal is only a small snapshot of the situation across the country. Under Yunus’s rule, soaring prices, shortages of essential goods, and the deterioration of law and order have made life unbearable for ordinary people. Those who want to earn an honest living by working on the streets every day are being denied even that basic opportunity due to this incompetent governance.
The question is: who will take responsibility for this situation? When thousands of families go hungry, when CNG drivers become unemployed, when their children can no longer attend school, will Yunus seek refuge with his foreign patrons? Or will he look to militant groups for solutions?
The reality is simple: an illegitimate government can never work for the welfare of the people. Without legitimacy, there is no accountability. Yunus’s non-government proves this every day. The gas crisis in Barishal is not an isolated incident; it is a glaring example of failed governance. A government that cannot manage something as basic as gas imports, how will it run a country?
The development and stability that existed during the Awami League government are now becoming clear in contrast. People are learning to compare. They are beginning to understand the difference between an elected government and an illegitimate one.
