Sangsad Bhaban, June 28 -- Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood on Sunday said two power plants have been forced to shut down due to technical and operational problems, causing around 3,000 megawatts of electricity to go offline and making load-shedding unavoidable in different parts of the country, including Dhaka.

Making a statement in Parliament under Rule 300, the minister described the situation as a "national crisis" and urged all to remain united in overcoming it.

"Let us all work together in a united manner to overcome this crisis. I hope the situation will improve within the next two days. Once conditions improve, the severity of load-shedding will decrease," he said.

The minister, however, did not...