DHAKA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Bangladeshi cabinet has approved a proposal to amend an electricity act with the provision of a maximum 10-year jail term for sabotaging any power infrastructure.
Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told reporters on Monday that under the law, provision of a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment or a fine of up to 100 million taka (1.23 million U.S. dollars) has been proposed for sabotage of any act to obstruct power distribution.
Alam said the draft law has defined various kinds of crimes which are to fall under the law.
Bangladeshi power sector has long been suffering from misuse, system loss and corruption.
According to the 2013 World Bank Enterprise Survey, businesses in Bangladesh face power outages for 840 hours per year on average with an output loss equivalent to 3 percent of GDP.
