Bhola suffers outage for four days

A nurse gives injection to a baby in the dim light of hurricane lamps at a Bhola hospital yesterday. Photo: Star

Around two million people, including 86,000 listed power consumers, in Bhola have been suffering from a blackout for over three days as several generators, installed by Indian company Alstom, went down.
The power outage was caused around 8:45pm on Saturday due to a technical fault in the 34.5 megawatt quick rental power plant of Venture Energy Limited and damages in submarine supply cables to the power grid, said plant officials.
Plant Manager Hafijur Rahaman said an expert team from the foreign company will arrive here tomorrow to repair the generators. He, however, could not confirm how long it would take to restore power to all consumers in the district.
Another key reason for the power failure was not maintaining the collapsed 33 kilovolt (kV) submarine cable. The line was damaged at several points in the Tetulia and Kalabodor rivers.
Officials of West Zone Power Distribution Company (WZPDC) said the maintenance work started on Monday and it would take two or three more days to restore normalcy in power supply.
Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) Director Tapan Kumar Roy, its Manager Shanti Ranjan Kundu and WZPDC Chief Engineer Shariful Islam visited the Power Development Board office in Bhola on Monday. They said partial supply from the power grid would be possible after fixing the submarine cable line.

People, angered by the four-day power outage, agitate at the gate of Bhola PDB office. Photo: Star

SUFFERINGS MOUNT
Villagers and senior citizens said this was the longest power outage in the district since it was brought under power connectivity in 1970.
The blackout has led to the collapse of the water supply system in the municipality, mounting the sufferings of people.
More than 600 patients in different hospitals and six upazila health complexes have been suffering immensely due to the unprecedented breakdown in the power supply system. Duty doctors were found stitching up patients in candlelight or using hurricane lanterns at Bhola Sadar Hospital.
Resident medical officer at the hospital Dr Nityananda Chowdhury said fire service men helped them filling up water tanks. But it was still very difficult for them to provide proper services to 131 patients undergoing treatment there.
Students, especially those in primary level, were preparing for their upcoming exams by candlelight.
The blackout also spiked the prices of essentials. Rickshaw fares have doubled as the battery-run human haulers lay idle for not being able to recharge the batteries.
Meanwhile, some agitated people demonstrated before the PDB office around 12:00noon yesterday protesting the blackout. They hurled brickbats at the building and chanted slogans as they were not allowed inside.
A little later, police reached the scene and brought the situation under control.