Over an hour blackout in some districts

As was announced by the government that there would be an hour of load-shedding everyday but on Tuesday, the first day, there were reports of load-shedding for up to 5-6 hours in some districts of the country.

Of them, Hatzahari of Chattagram had no electricity from morning till evening. Power was irregular in other districts - Dinajpur, Rangpur, Thakurgaon, Jashore, Chattogram, Bhola, Cumilla and Sylhet.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, again warned that if shopping malls were open after 8 pm, the electricity line would be disconnected.

Small businessmen in different districts told The Business Post that electricity was not available for more than 4 hours a day on average leading to production disruption in factories.

It was difficult for the businesses organizations including shopping malls to operate smoothly.

It was also reported that farmers were not able to run irrigation pumps smoothly in some parts of the northern region. As a result aman farming was disrupted.

On Tuesday afternoon Abdul Hadi from Badarganj Upazila in Rangpur said electricity was available for five hours on average throughout the day. People became helpless due to lack of electricity in intense heat.

Al Noman from Raujan Upazila in Chattogram said in Hathazari Upazila there had been no electricity since morning. Small businesses, hospitals, clinics were out of business frequently.

Rizwan Rahman, the President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DCCI), told The Business Post that the factories outside of Dhaka were facing more crises.

“But considering the global energy problem we have to accept load-shedding temporarily.” He requested the government not to increase load-shedding duration in future.

The situation of SME sector is critical due to lack of electricity. One hour of load-shedding is tolerable given the global crisis.

But if it increases, the export trade will be severely affected. Many small traders will be flat broke, said Mirza Nurul Ghani Shovon, the President of National Association of Small and Cottage Industries of Bangladesh (NASCIB). 

In this regard, MD Selim Uddin, the Chairman of Rural Electrification Board (REB), told The Business Post that he also got the information that there was frequent load-shedding in some districts.

“We distribute as much electricity as we get. This is happening due to disruption in power production,” he said.

Meanwhile, DPDC started scheduled load shedding in Dhaka city on Tuesday. No load-shedding was reported for more than one hour in Dhaka.

He wrote on his personal Facebook account on Tuesday afternoon that the government decision to keep shops closed after 8 pm would be strictly monitored by the Power Division.

Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) started this campaign from Monday night. If shopping malls are open after 8 pm, the power line will be disconnected. He requested all to support the government decision.

Due to energy crisis, there is serious disruption of power production in the country. The government is struggling to import energy as the price has increased in the global market.

The government announced area-wise load shedding on Monday to save electricity. During the first week of the next month the load-shedding time may increase further.

The government claimed that this situation had arisen out of the Russia-Ukrain war. But energy experts say that the power and energy sector of the country is in danger due to the wrong policy of the government.