DOMINANT ANGLE
Dhaka is first measuring the energy bill of the Nepalese catastrophe: electricity exports to Bangladesh have been cut off for nearly a month, even before the human toll or climate study occupied the same space in the local press.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Nepalese electricity exports are halted for nearly a month after floods on the Bhotekoshi damaged the Trishuli and Chilime power plants.
- 02
Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah thanked the contribution of $1 million to the relief fund and for the condolence motion passed by the Bangladeshi Parliament.
- 03
According to authorities cited on September 16, around 5,200 people remain missing (including 636 foreigners); a report cited on September 17 mentions at least 6,600 missing, and only 7% of the recovered bodies have been identified.
ANALYSIS
Dhaka, September 17, 2026. Three weeks after the glacial collapse of Langtang Lirung, the Bangladeshi press places the energy shockwave on the same level as the human toll. According to Nepalese authorities cited on Wednesday, September 16, around 5,200 people remain missing, including 636 foreigners; another count cited on Thursday, September 17, mentions at least 6,600 missing, with a death toll exceeding 1,400 confirmed. Only 7% of the recovered bodies have been identified: out of 1,206 DNA samples collected and 1,889 taken from families, only 105 bodies have been returned.
Bangladesh has its own equation to solve. The floods of the Bhotekoshi have damaged the Trishuli and Chilime power plants, authorized to export to India and Bangladesh: deliveries to Dhaka have been interrupted for nearly a month. India has just renewed the authorization to import up to 654 megawatts for the Nepal Electricity Authority, eighteen hours a day until December 31, but has not renewed the export permits for three projects, including Upper Chameliya (38.8 MW), while the deficit caused by the floods reaches 350 to 400 MW. Kathmandu is now seeking New Delhi's approval to sell electricity from the Kabeli B-1 and Solu Khola power plants to Bangladesh.
At the bilateral level, Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah thanked his Bangladeshi counterpart Tarique Rahman for the contribution of one million dollars paid into the relief fund and for the motion of condolences adopted by the Parliament of Bangladesh, a gesture he described as a reflection of "the sincere sympathy and solidarity of the people of Bangladesh". Cooperation is following the same trend elsewhere: the Nepalese ambassador to Dhaka met with the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board to dedicate the next T20 series to the flood victims.
The attribution study by the World Weather Attribution, published on Thursday, remains secondary in this treatment: climatologist Friederike Otto asserts that there is "absolutely no doubt" about the role of warming in the permafrost thaw. But for the Bangladeshi press, the Nepalese catastrophe is first and foremost an interruption of the electricity supply to be repaired before winter.
SOURCES (3)
- The Daily StarMEDIUM
- The Business StandardMEDIUM
- TBS NewsMEDIUM
