Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim: Bangladesh has banned the export of Hilsa fish to India after India halted electricity supplies to Bangladesh.
Fact: India has not halted its electricity supply to Bangladesh. But, Bangladesh has confirmed a ban on the export of Hilsa fish to India to prioritise domestic consumption.
A viral post on social media claims that India has halted electricity supplies to Bangladesh, following which, Bangladesh banned the export of Hilsa fish to India.
Posting the claim, many users wrote on Facebook, “Bangladesh Govt wasn’t paying for electricity supplied to them by India as they don’t have money. India was buying Hilsa Fish from Bhikharidesh and paying for it. India stopped supplying electricity to Bhikharidesh. Bhikharidesh stopped export of Hilsa Fish to India. Now, Bhikharidesh don’t have electricity, they don’t have money which they could get by selling Hilsa Fish to India, and over stock of Hilsa Fish”.
Many such claims can be seen here, here and here.
Users also shared similar claims on social media platform X can be seen here, here and here
Fact Check/ Verification
We conducted a keyword search to verify the claim that India has stopped supplying electricity to Bangladesh with the words ‘India stopped electricity to Bangladesh’ and ‘India halted electricity Bangladesh’.
We found no reports that said that India has halted power supply to the neighbouring country. However, our search revealed several news reports indicating that the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) owes nearly $1 billion in unpaid bills to Indian electricity producers, including Adani Power and state-owned firms like NTPC and PTC India. Of this total, approximately $800 million is owed specifically to Adani Power.
In a recent interview to Bloomberg, Bangladesh Bank’s newly-appointed Governor Ahsan H. Mansur also admitted the same.
We then consulted the Indian National Load Dispatch Centre (GRID-INDIA) website, which manages power transmission in India. The data revealed that India supplied nearly 47.7 million units of electricity to Bangladesh on September 18, 2024, about 47.5 million units on September 11, 2024, and approximately 46.23 million units on August 30, 2024. This consistent data confirms that India has neither halted its electricity supply to Bangladesh nor made any significant reductions in the recent past.
We then reviewed the Power Grid Bangladesh website, which oversees power transmission in the country. We found comparable data regarding the electricity supplied from India.
Upon conducting further research, we found that the new government of Bangladesh banned the exportation of fish hilsa to India citing domestic consumption.
The trade of hilsa fish between India and Bangladesh was banned in 2012, but from September 2019, the trade resumed, only during Durga Puja season as a goodwill gesture. This was hailed as ‘fish diplomacy’.
Reports indicated that the request of Fish Importers’ Association in Kolkata, to import Hilsa fish, was turned down by Bangladesh interim government’s fish and animal resource ministry citing internal demands and has called for a strict implementation of the ban.
In a recent interview with BBC, Farida Akhter, adviser to the Bangladesh Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock said, “A lot of fish is [still] going from Bangladesh to India [despite the ban]. This time we will not allow the hilsa to cross the border”.
Hilsa has served as an important diplomatic tool between India and Bangladesh. The fish has come to symbolise goodwill and friendship between the two nations, largely thanks to former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
She gifted hilsa to Indian leaders on various occasions, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. This practice started in 1996 when Hasina presented hilsa to then-West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, shortly before the signing of the Ganga Water Sharing treaty.
Other news reports on it can be seen here, here and here.
Conclusion
Thus we find that India has not halted its electricity supply to Bangladesh, while Bangladesh has confirmed a ban on the export of Hilsa fish to India citing domestic needs.
Result: Partly False
Sources
Report on Economic Times, Dated August 27, 2024
Report on Bussiness Today, Dated August 23, 2024
Report on Bloomberg, Dated Dated August 23, 2024
Report on BBC, Dated September 11, 2024
Report on Power Grid Bangladesh
Report on Indian National Load Dispatch Centre (GRID-INDIA)
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Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
