Factory production disrupted due to loadshedding, public life in hot weather
Photo Collected
Dying factory ‘Total Fashion Limited’ in Keodhala area of Bandar Upazila of Narayanganj. The factory did not have electricity for about 5 hours in 24 hours from Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Due to load-shedding, factory production has decreased. The company is facing losses due to not being able to produce as per the target.
Kabirul Islam, administrative officer of the factory, told Prothom Alo that the production of the factory is being disrupted due to loadshedding. Demand for diesel is also not available to meet load shedding. Due to power and gas crisis, the production of the factory has reduced from 10 tons to two tons.
Among the five upazilas of Narayanganj, Narayanganj Palli Vidyut Samiti-1 and Narayanganj Palli Vidyut Samiti-2 supply electricity to Bandar, Sonargaon, Araihazar and Rupganj. Narayanganj Palli Vidyut Samiti-1 has a daily demand of 400 megawatts of electricity, but 30 to 40 percent less is available. On the other hand, Narayanganj Palli Vidyut Samity-2 has 140 MW against its 200 MW demand. Load-shedding is being provided to deal with the shortage due to non-availability of power as per demand.
In Gazipur like Narayanganj, severe load shedding has occurred in areas under the coverage of rural electricity. Outside the city there is no electricity for 7 to 8 hours day and night. People’s life has become exhausted due to extreme heat amid load shedding.
Narayanganj: ‘Two hours load shedding’ once you go
As the supply is less than the demand, there is load shedding for one to two hours once the power goes out in the areas covered by rural electricity in Narayanganj. Somewhere the amount of load shedding is more. In addition to industrial production, the irrigation of agricultural land during Boro season is disrupted.
Bashar Papers Limited factory in Malibagh area of the port produces 15 tonnes of carton paper per day. But due to load shedding their production has come down to 8 to 9 tonnes. The manager of the company, Golam Mostafa, told Prothom Alo that there is load shedding for 5 to 6 hours every day. Once the power goes out there is load shedding for one to two hours. This reduced their production by half. It is possible to run generators to keep production running, but that is not possible due to the diesel crisis.
When asked, Sheikh Mohammad Ali, Senior General Manager of Narayanganj Palli Vidyut Samity-1 told Prothom Alo that 25 to 30 percent loadshedding is being provided every day. Due to lack of supply according to demand, load shedding has to be done to meet the shortage.
Meanwhile, businessmen have complained that the production of various industries is being disrupted due to load shedding in Panchbati Bisik Industrial City of Narayanganj. The area is under the jurisdiction of Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) Narayanganj. However, according to the company’s information, their daily electricity demand in Narayanganj is 509 MW. They are supplying the entire demand.
President of Bangladesh Knitting Owners Association Salim Sarwar told Prothom Alo that production is being disrupted due to load shedding. If there is no electricity, diesel is not available at pumps for generators and vehicles for transporting goods.
DPDC Supervising Engineer Kamal Hossain told Prothom Alo that electricity is available as per demand. No load shedding anywhere. According to him, there may be temporary shutdown of power supply in some cases due to maintenance and technical problems, which is not load shedding.
Gazipur: ‘7 hours load shedding on average’
Azizul Haque is the owner of Ammajan Hotel and Restaurant on Kunia Gacha road in Gazipur metropolis. He said that the load shedding has increased with the temperature for a few days. Every day the hotel opens early in the morning and closes at 11 pm. During this period, the electricity comes and goes at least six to seven times.
Sakhina Begum, a housewife in Laxmipura area near the city, said that after Saturday evening, the electricity went off when she was sitting at the reading table with her son. When the fan stops, it becomes difficult to survive in the heat. After about an hour and a half, the power came on, but after a while it went off again. In this way, the electricity has come and gone several times throughout the night. It disrupts normal life.
Although there is relatively less loadshedding in the Gazipur city area, the local residents said that there is no electricity for 7 to 8 hours day and night in the areas under the jurisdiction of Palli Vidyut Samity-1 outside the city. Apart from Gazipur city, this association supplies electricity to Kaliakair, Sreepur, Kaliganj and Kapasia upazilas.
According to Palli Vidyut Samiti sources, the total electricity demand of Gazipur Palli Vidyut Samiti-1 is 484 MW, while the supply is 312 MW. Deficiency of 172 MW forced load shedding. On the other hand, the load shedding is 50 MW against the demand of 140 MW in the area covered by Samity-2. In Sreepur and Mauna regions under Mymensingh Palli Vidyut Samity-II, the supply is 80 to 100 MW against the demand of 150 MW. On the other hand, the demand in Kaliakair upazila under Dhaka Palli Vidyut Samiti-1 is 200 MW, on the contrary, 120 MW is available. There are 7 to 8 hours of load shedding every day in this area with more than 400 industries.
Anwar Hossain, a farmer of Khirati village in Ghagtia Union of Kapasia, said, “The electricity situation has worsened as the heat has increased. There was no electricity for two to three hours after 12 noon on Saturday. After that, there is no electricity until 4 pm and again until 7 pm. I didn’t get proper current for 7-8 hours out of 12 hours. I can’t give water to current Laiga properly.’
Gazipur-4 Constituent Member of Parliament today. Salahuddin Ayoubi said, there is load shedding in Kapasia for 10 to 12 hours. It is disrupting the education of students, suffering patients in hospitals and disrupting irrigation systems. If the problem is not resolved quickly, the situation will worsen.
The general manager of Palli Vidyut, an electricity provider in Gazipur. Abul Bashar Azad told Prothom Alo that the demand for electricity in the area under Gazipur Palli Vidyut Samiti is 484 megawatts, due to non-availability of electricity according to the character, load shedding has to be paid a little more. Centrally they have been told, ‘You convince the customers, the electricity situation will improve very soon.’
Source: Prothom Alo Bangla
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