Power outages intensify in rural areas as holidaymakers rush home

Load shedding in rural areas of the country has intensified amid the hot temperatures as people have started leaving cities to celebrate Eid vacation.

The rural villages of Mymensingh, Khulna, Jashore, Chuadanga, Rajshahi and Cumilla are suffering the most due to heightened power outages in recent days.

Kawsar Alom, an auto-rickshaw driver who runs a battery-powered vehicle in Gouripur upazila of Mymensingh, said that load shedding has significantly affected his daily earnings. He has been forced to curtail driving hours due to the shortage of charge caused by frequent power cuts.

"Normally, it takes around ten hours to charge the battery. But for the last few days I cannot fully charge the battery," he said.

A director from the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), which is responsible for providing electricity to remote and rural areas, said on condition of anonymity that there has been a consistent shortage of around 1,000MW of power in the last few days.

As of Thursday evening, the 80 distribution zones of BREB were in need of approximately 8,000 MW of electricity, but only 7,000 MW were supplied, resulting in a deficit of 1,000 MW.

"Due to this supply shortage, there was load shedding in some areas in phases," the BREB director added.

Based on data from Power Grid Company Bangladesh, the country experienced a power shortage of 1,820MW at 1 am on Wednesday, despite recording a maximum generation of 15,648MW at 9 pm on the same day.

"With record power generation, people also face a record eight to ten hours of load shedding each day," said Md Abu Naser, a resident of Chuadanga.

Siddiqur Rahman, a school teacher and Boro paddy farmer from Gouripur, said that the ongoing record heatwave and load shedding have become a nightmare for him and fellow farmers, preventing them from irrigating their land.

"This is the high time for paddy cultivation. But due to hot weather and irrigation problems, we are concerned about getting a good yield," he said.

Most areas of the port city Chattogram are facing load shedding eight to 10 times a day.
Amid the ongoing load shedding, people have been struggling to sleep at night due to the extreme heat, as the electric fans turn off unexpectedly in the middle of the night.

Amir Sohail, resident of the Chandgaon area of the city, said, "Most of the residents of the city have gone to their village houses to celebrate Eid, but still we are suffering from frequent power outages."

Many city residents have expressed their dissatisfaction with the extended power cuts in residential areas during both daytime and nighttime. This is a result of electricity rationing for shopping malls, which has caused inconvenience for many, they said.

However, the Chattogram Power Distribution office denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, individuals residing in the port city have also reported a water shortage, with Chattogram Wasa having suspended the water supply in multiple areas. City dwellers are concerned that this situation will worsen during Eid.

According to Chattogram Wasa officials, they are currently capable of supplying approximately 50% of the city's water demand. To manage the water scarcity, the organisation has implemented a rationing system, which involves suspending the water supply to various localities for two to three days per week.

Due to this, there has been a water shortage in some areas during Ramadan, said the officials.

Managing Director of Chattogram Wasa AKM Fazlullah said, "Due to intense heat and lack of rain, the water level in Kaptai Lake has decreased by 33 feet compared to normal time. Water crisis arises in Chattogram due to this situation."

"Besides, the quality of water has deteriorated due to various reasons including increased salinity in the Halda River. We are refraining from pumping water for about six hours every day in the Mohra project. It reduces the water supply by five crore litres. We are also suffering from the electricity crisis," he added.