Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed the authorities concerned to deal with the electricity situation and rate of inflation, which she said were two of the biggest reasons for people's suffering. 

Quoting the prime minister, Planning Minister MA Mannan told reporters that she gave the directives during today's meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). 

He said the authorities concerned informed that the electricity situation would improve in two weeks. 

Regarding inflation, the government will take steps to ensure that it doesn't climb higher, the minister said. 

According to the latest report from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Monday, the monthly inflation rate in May soared to a decade-high of 9.94%, up from 9.24% in the previous month, as both rural and urban people are paying higher prices for food and non-food items. 

The surge in inflation is higher than the 7.32% growth in wages in May, the statistics agency also revealed, indicating the hardship for fixed income earners.

Meanwhile, the country is reeling under an unprecedented load-shedding of around 2,500 megawatts, equivalent to what the country used to produce in total during the late '90s.

The situation has been exacerbated as it coincided with the severe heatwave which descended on the country, forcing the government to suspend primary school classes till 8 June. 

On 4 June, State Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said the ongoing load-shedding situation is expected to ease in the next two weeks.

"We have been working for the past two months to address the matter. But there are several challenges we need to tackle. The current economic situation as well as supply of oil and gas require focused efforts," Nasrul said.

The Payra 1,320MW Thermal Power Plant was  also shut off completely on Monday with the closure of its second unit amid persisting coal shortage.

The plant's operations were shut at 12:10pm.

The shutdown of the major coal-fired plant is set to worsen the ongoing load shedding situation, especially in the southern region and a part of Dhaka where the plant used to supply electricity.