Dhaka, April 22 -- An acute power shortage coupled with a severe fuel crisis has pushed public life and industrial production in Savar and its adjacent areas to the brink of collapse.

Over the last few weeks, residents and factory owners in the industrial outskirts of the capital have been enduring 12 to 13 hours of power cuts daily.

The crisis has hit the country's primary export sectors -- readymade garments and leather -- halting machinery and threatening international delivery schedules.

The situation is particularly dire in Savar municipality and surrounding unions, where the lack of a scheduled power outage has left citizens helpless amid a heatwave.

"We are in an impossible situation. We can't sleep at night and can't work duri...