Sri Lanka brings in four-day week to eke out stocks of oil and gas hit by Iran war

"Countries across south Asia are facing crippling shortages of fuel and LPG gas, which are used for everything from home cooking to cremating bodies, as most supplies have been held up in the Gulf since the US and Israel began bombing Iran. The strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for most of south Asia's oil and gas, has effectively been shut for two weeks as it has been blockaded by Iran in retaliation for the US and Israeli strikes."

"From Wednesday, state institutions, as well as schools and universities, will operate only four days a week. Civil servants are being told to work from home where possible. We are also asking the private sector to follow suit and declare every Wednesday a holiday from now on, Prabath Chandrakeerthi, commissioner general of essential services, told reporters after an emergency meeting chaired by the president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake."

"All countries in the region import almost all their fuel and gas and most warned they only have enough supplies to keep the lights on for a few more weeks. Bangladesh, fearful of running of out fuel to power the garment factories that are crucial to its economy, announced early Ramadan holidays for universities to save energy and has imposed scheduled power blackouts."

South Asian countries face severe fuel and LPG gas shortages due to Middle East conflict disrupting supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran blockaded this critical shipping route in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes, halting most oil and gas shipments to the region. Countries including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, which import nearly all their fuel and gas, have only weeks of supplies remaining. Sri Lanka introduced a four-day working week for state institutions, schools, universities, and civil servants working from home to conserve energy. Bangladesh implemented early Ramadan holidays and scheduled blackouts to protect garment factory operations. Pakistan moved schools online and raised fuel prices to prevent hoarding. Fuel rationing began across affected nations as populations faced long queues at fuel stations.

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