8-12 hours load-shedding a day
People in Rajshahi zone including the boro growers in the Barind region have been experiencing eight to 12 hours of load-shedding every day as the zone is facing power shortfall of about 50 percent megawatt (MW).
The distribution units were provided with 277 MW power yesterday against the daily demand of 600 MW, which amounted to a 323 MW shortfall, said Power Development Board (PDB) officials.
The picture is almost similar on any other day, they said.
Abdur Rouf, superintendent engineer of PDB, Rajshahi zone, said all peaking power plants and oil-based power plants remain shut during daytime to reduce expenses.
Meanwhile, load shedding has risen significantly in the city since early March, which the PDB officials attribute to supplying uninterrupted power to irrigation machines at boro fields.
However, Quamruzzaman, a boro grower of Tanore, said they have not been receiving continuous supply of power.
“We need to keep boro fields under water continuously but we only get water from deep tube-wells after every 15 days because of power crisis,” he said.
Enamul Haque, a deep tubewell operator of Karimpur village of Mundumala, said they witness load shedding 10 to 12 hours daily. Some 130 bighas of land under his deep tube-well scheme gets water every 15 days.
The load shedding causes immense sufferings to people in Rajshahi, Natore, Naogaon, Chapainawabganj, Pabna, Sirajganj, Bogra, and Joypurhat districts.
“I was forced to buy an IPS for Tk 20,000 for my daughter who is taking the HSC examinations this year,” said Hafizul Islam, a businessman of Miapara in Rajshahi city.
He said sometimes he cannot charge the IPS properly due to frequent power cuts.
The zone is getting 140 MW of power while the daily demand is around 350 MW.
Frequent load shedding caused water crisis in many areas while healthcare including surgical operations at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital are being greatly hampered.
-With The Daily Star input
