Power cuts make households, industries suffer in Rangpur

Frequent power cuts due to poor supply from the National Grid are causing severe suffering to the commoners and hampering the business production in the mills and factories in the Rangpur division.

A high official of the Rural Electrification Board (REB), Rangpur requesting not to be named said, the power supply in the division has decreased 5-6 hours in 24 hours due to a shortage of power generation.

According to Northern Electricity Supply Company LTD (NESCO), the supply fell short abruptly from the National grid. The demand for power in the Rangpur division during the peak hour from 5.00 pm to 7.00 am is 700 MW while the supply is 500 mg.

Ashraful Islam, manager of Ms City Filling Station in the city, said frequent power disruption hampers trade and business.

Business in shops, markets, and shopping malls of the city ahead of Eid-ul-Azha is badly hampered. People rarely come out of the home due to the ongoing hot spell.

Abul Kahir Mohammad Masum, a resident of the Nurpur area of Rangpur city said, “We are experiencing frequent power outages during the twenty-four hours amid the hot spell. Our daily activities have been badly hampered.”

Jisan Ahamed, an SSC examinee in the Robertsonganj area of the city said, “It becomes tough for us to continue study amid the hot spell due to the frequent load-shedding.”

Nazrul Islam, a garments shop owner at Zila Parishad Super Market of the city said business ahead of Eid is badly hampered as the customers feel reluctant to enter the market for shopping due to frequent load shedding amid the hot spell.

Sabiha Sultana, a housewife said, people are experiencing power cuts for several hours in a number of spells while the government is claiming that there is no power shortage in the country.

Public Relation Advisor (PRA) Karupanno, an export-oriented handloom factory in Rangpur city, Mahabub Rhaman Habu said, “Our factory is hundred per cent foreign export-oriented. It runs twenty-four hours to meet the deadline of the international buyers. Frequent power disruption is causing production loss in the factory for the last couple of days.”

The factory has to incur a huge amount of foreign currency if the situation continues more, he noted.

Meanwhile, some fifteen people have suffered from heat-stroke amid the ongoing unbearable hot temperature for the last couple of days and got admitted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RpMCH).

Dr Javed Hossain, the on-duty physician at the emergency ward of RpMCH, said some eleven patients who suffered from heat stroke got admitted to the hospital during the last seven days.

The power supply agency Northern Electric Supply Company LTD (NESCO), Rangpur Zone, Chief Engineer, Shahadat Hossain Sarker said the supply fell short according to the demand of NESCO and REB in the Rangpur division due to the shortage of gas supply to the power plants for electricity generation.

“We are adopting rationing measures for power supply to cover the gap between demand and supply in the districts. The demand for electricity in the division during the daytime is 600 MW while the supply is 400 MW. The supply drops to 500 MW during the peak hour against the demand of 700 MW.”