Farmers enjoy uninterrupted power

A sigh of relief has swept over Boro paddy farmers in Rajshahi, who were deeply concerned about irrigation due to electricity shortage just two weeks back.

"We have been getting nearly uninterrupted electricity since April 12. Before that date, the situation was terrible," said Abdul Hamid, a farmer of Rajshahi's Tanore upazila.

To ensure the harvest, authorities have decided to provide uninterrupted power to the irrigation machines first.

The decision was taken during a meeting held at Rajshahi's divisional commissioner's conference room recently with Rural Electrification Board (REB) member Md Hasan Maruf in the chair.

Senior officials of REB, the divisional commissioner's office and Northern Electricity Supply Company Limited (NESCO) were present at the meeting.

However, this joy may not last for long and it also comes at a cost to urban residents.

"We have decided to prioritise saving our crops first in the draught prone areas. However, urban residents of these areas will have to face power shortages as a result," said Dr Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir, divisional commissioner of Rajshahi.

Quoting agricultural and power officials, he said the uninterrupted power supply to Boro fields will continue till the end of April, which is considered the peak irrigation period.

However, Abdul Hamid said his demand for irrigation will not cease in two weeks, as he started cultivating much of his Boro paddy, on 35 bighas of land, late.

"I cultivated Boro paddy after harvesting wheat, pulse and mustard. I will need irrigation till the middle of June," he said.

"If the power supply to our crop lands fluctuate after April, our crops will be damaged by the scorching sun," he added.

Meanwhile, homes and businesses in the towns of the division have been experiencing five to eight hours of outages a day due to power shortage, city residents and officials said.

"I'm surviving on IPS batteries for power, but it increases my cost of living," said Rezwanul Haque, a resident of Boaliapara in Rajshahi city.

Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) is expecting a bountiful harvest of 37,01,564 tons of paddy from 8,31,337 hectares of land in the eight districts.

For irrigation, the REB is responsible for providing power and is getting 388 MW power supply against a daily demand of 581 MW in the division. REB is witnessing a daily shortage of 193 MW.

On the other hand, NESCO that supplies power to homes and businesses is witnessing a 40 percent deficit against a daily demand of 400MW.

"REB and NESCO is coordinating to ensure uninterrupted power supply to REB," said the divisional commissioner.

Hospitals, and religious institutions in the towns will also receive consistent power supply, he said.