Transformer troubles cause increase in outage hours
Due to transformer crisis, city areas remain in the dark for hours. A number of transformers are waiting to be repaired at the Power Development Board (PDB) office at Muradpur. Photo: STAR
The Chittagong Regional Workshop of Power Development Board (PDB) has been limping along due to lack of manpower and modern equipment, causing immense sufferings to consumers in greater Chittagong division.
It causes delay in repairing electric transformers required for restoring snapped power supply.
The workshop authorities, responsible for repairing the electric transformers damaged in blast or giving troubles in Chittagong, are yet to get any positive reply to the letter they sent to the ministry concerned in September last year, sources said.
Against over 60 posts, a 13-member workforce including engineers, foremen, technicians and electricians, is struggling hard to repair transformers lying there in a heap with the help of some helping hands recruited on temporary basis.
The workshop was set up in the city's Mansurabad area around 40 years ago when the PDB had only some 1,000 transformers in the five districts -- Chittagong, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Bandarban and Cox's Bazar under Chittagong region. The number of transformers has now stood at 3,200.
Acting Executive Engineer Mohammad Ibrahim Ali at the workshop said on an average two transformers can be repaired a day where sometimes, particularly in the rainy season, four to five transformers arrive there daily.
The engineers and technicians equipped with backdated tools make frantic efforts to cope with the pressure when repair work of a transformer takes several days depending on the condition or extent of damage, he said.
Sources at the workshop said most of the existing transformers of PDB, Chittagong are age-old while lightning and overloading cause transformers get damaged or troubles, he added.
While visiting the workshop on Sunday around 40 transformers that came from different distribution centres were seen lying for repair.
A total of 79 transformers have been repaired at the workshop in July and August this year while 172 transformers in 2004-2005, 226 in 2005-2006, 367 in 2006-2007 and 526 in 2007-2008, the sources at the workshop said.
As such, delay in repairing the damaged or trouble-giving transformers worsens power supply situation and raises suffering to the power consumers to a large extent.
Zia Hossain of Firingee Bazar area said they had to stay seven days without power as their transformer went out of order last week of August.
“Removal of the troubled transformers had brought untold sufferings to us when we also had to experience shortage of water,” he said, adding that they collected water from their relatives living another part of the city.
“Scorching heat of the sun along with water crisis pushed us into an intolerable situation when many of this area were forced to leave the city and stay at village homes until normalcy in power supply could be restored,” he said.
The transformer was reinstalled restoring power supply after six days only to go out of order again on September 7 creating resentment among the residents of the area.
The angry residents brought out a procession and put up barricade on the roads at Firingee Bazar demanding immediate restoration of power, he added.
He said check in illegal power connection from the PDB distribution lines can help the transformer to last longer.
Syed Mohammad Muinuddin, a government official of city's Khatiberhat of Bahaddarhat area, said they are to experience power outage frequently as the transformer of the area goes out of order frequently.
“We are to wait two to three days when the PDB men take the transformer for repair. Sultry weather along with water crisis make the situation unbearable,” he said.
He demanded immediate withdrawal of the age-old transformers from the power supply lines and installation of new ones to help them get rid of the power crisis.
In this regard, PDB Chittagong Chief Engineer Joytish Chandra Biswas said it is too tough for 13 people to do a large-scale work.
He said he told the executive engineer at the workshop to make another proposal for additional manpower and equipment.
He said 16 new transformers have been procured for this region last month and we have distributed them on the basis of importance.
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