Dinajpur Correspondent:
During the ongoing heat wave, the power crisis in Dinajpur district has become severe. From April 15 to April 21, complaints of long power outages have been received in different areas of the district, both day and night. This has disrupted public life, as well as negatively affected business, trade and agricultural activities.
According to relevant sources, the current daily power demand in the district is fluctuating between 100 and 120 megawatts. On the contrary, the supply is 70 to 95 megawatts. As a result, due to an average power shortage of 25 to 30 megawatts, load shedding is being done in different areas in phases.
Speaking to several residents of Sadar, Biral and Bochaganj upazilas of the district, it was learned that there are several power outages a day and in many cases there is no power for two to four hours continuously. This has increased the suffering of children, the elderly and the sick in the heat.
Moslem Uddin, a resident of Mahajanpara area of Birol upazila, said, “Since there is no specific schedule, it is not possible to understand when the electricity will come or go, which is disrupting daily work.” Molly Rani, a resident of Chhota Gurgola area of the city, also reported similar suffering.
The power shortage has also affected the industrial and business sectors. A source from the Dinajpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that due to the lack of electricity supply as per demand, many institutions are being forced to use generators, resulting in increased production costs. According to auto rice mill owners, production is decreasing due to power outages.
Meanwhile, farmers said that irrigation activities are also being disrupted. Water supply to Boro paddy fields is being disrupted as it is not possible to run electricity-based irrigation pumps regularly.
Seema Rani Kundu, Deputy Manager (Technical) of Dinajpur Palli Bidyut Samity-1, said that this situation has arisen due to low supply from the national grid and load management is being done according to the scheduled schedule.
On the other hand, NESCO Executive Engineer Ahsan Habib said that efforts are being made to maintain normal supply in the areas under their jurisdiction and if there is a problem, quick solutions are being taken.
However, the victims complain that in many cases there is no pre-announced schedule, which is increasing the suffering. They have demanded the speedy normalization of power supply and the publication of a specific load shedding schedule.
According to experts, the increase in demand for electricity due to the heat wave has created pressure on the supply system at the national level, which is also affecting the district level. In this situation, those concerned believe that effective management and coordinated initiatives are essential.
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