So much for the schedule
Sunday night was quite shocking for Sylhet residents, as Division-2 of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) published a load-shedding schedule stating that many areas of the city would face blackouts for 12 to 13 hours.
However, a BPDB official claimed to have made a mistake and revised the schedule. But this did not resolve the residents' woes.
Even though the government had instructed to enforce load shedding for one to two hours daily, BPDB in Sylhet published a schedule for three to five hours of load shedding.
But it is not even following the schedule, as residents are witnessing blackouts for more than the stated hours.
BPDB officials claimed that they are only getting allotments of around 50 percent of the demanded electricity, and so are failing to provide power as per the schedule.
Moreover, they have at least 10 percent lower power allotment when compared with that of all other divisional towns of the country, they said.
The failure to maintain the schedule and excessive load shedding have made residents disgruntled. This dissatisfaction may even lead to protests, said residents.
Anwar Choudhury, a resident of Sylhet city's Baluchar area, said, "The government declared one to two hours of load shedding, but we are dealing with blackouts for four to five hours or even more. The schedule is never followed."
Mohammad Abdul Kadir, chief engineer of BPDB in Sylhet, said, "Today [yesterday], our demand is 175 megawatts, while we were allotted only 93 megawatts. Yesterday [Sunday], the allotment was only 78 megawatts. With this supply, we cannot follow the schedule, and so, people are getting dissatisfied."
"We are also being deprived, when compared with all other divisional towns. While they are receiving around 60 percent [of power demand], we are getting around 50 percent or less. For that, people in Sylhet are witnessing more load shedding."
Meanwhile, as stores are bound to close by 8:00pm, increased load shedding is snatching away crucial business time, leading to serious losses.
Tahmin Ahmed, president of Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "For years, Sylhet has been suffering from excessive load shedding due to mismanagement of BPDB. And now, the situation is dire. Machineries of businesses are being damaged, while businesspeople are spending more to run generators or IPSs."
Faruque Mahmud Chowdhury, president of Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan), Sylhet chapter, said, "At homes, people's electrical appliances are being damaged due to excessive and unscheduled load shedding. Students, who just dealt with the floods, are facing problems preparing for exams."
"We understand the national crisis, but to keep people content, BPDB should maintain the schedule they publish, and the government must not discriminate against Sylhet in regards to power supply," he said.
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