Unexpected date with darkness: How Palli Bidyut protest upended routine of millions
Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) staffers had held a blackout programme in some regions, protesting the dismissal and arrest of some officials and threatening a “complete nationwide blackout”
Ripa Sultana Jana, a resident of Bhimpur village in Naogaon Sadar, has grown accustomed to load sheddings, usually an immediate fallout of storms.
But today (17 October) was a nightmare even for her.
Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) staffers had held a blackout programme in some regions, protesting the dismissal and arrest of some officials and threatening a "complete nationwide blackout".
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The blackout affected 30 districts from noon till around 7pm. By then, leaders of the Palli Bidyut Samity (PBS) Anti-Discrimination Movement promised to postpone their ultimatum of enforcing a "complete shutdown" across the country following calls from the government to discuss their demands.
The damage, however, had already been felt for over 1.20 crore people affected.
For Ripa, the electricity came and went sporadically, before a stretch of around 3 hours in complete blackout beginning from 4pm.
By the time electricity returned, Ripa had to cook in the darkness, while her children had difficulties studying.
For Sohail Akand of Bogura's Nepaltali Union, the worry was more economical.
A poultry farm owner, he expected thousands of chicks to hatch today, given the proper conditions.
These "proper conditions" rely heavily on the supply of electricity.
By the end of the day, he realised not all his chicks could be saved.
Elsewhere in the district's Shahjahanpur, the darkness descended on shops and homes illuminated by candles or chargers.
Till the evening, few knew what the matter was. They hadn't heard of the protest or even the programme.
"We haven't had electricity for hours now. We aren't sure what the problem is," Mizanur Rahman of Ariya Bamunia village said.
Some 200 kilometres away in Brahmanbaria, Mansoor Ali, a resident of Sarail, was busy trying to salvage food on the brink of rotting in his refrigerator.
"The blackouts began around 11am. Most of the food I kept in our fridge has spoiled," he said.
Rubel Ahmed, a resident of the Collegepara area of Akhaura Upazila Sadar, said holding customers hostage could not be a way of having demands met.
"People's lives are already suffering due to constant load shedding. The Palli Bidyut staffers have also worsened the situation," he said.
Our Brahmanbaria correspondent contributed to this report.
