GOPALGANJ, Apr 29: Frequent and prolonged load-shedding has disrupted daily life across Gopalganj, forcing residents to say they no longer ask when electricity will go off, but when it will return.
Residents from both rural and urban areas say the power situation has become increasingly unstable, with repeated outages throughout the day and night affecting households, businesses and essential services.
Pankaj Mondal from Singa Village in Kashiani Upazila and Paresh Biswas from Dasherhat Village in Muksudpur Upazila said electricity is available for only short intervals before being cut again. "Electricity comes for about two hours, then there is load shedding for one hour," they said.
They added that the situation has severely affected children's studies, household routines, irrigation for Boro paddy cultivation, and the use of basic appliances such as fans, refrigerators and televisions.
Residents said the crisis is affecting hundreds of thousands of consumers in the district under both the Rural Electrification Board (Palli Bidyut) and the West Zone Power Distribution Company Limited (WZPDCL).
In urban areas, residents said power cuts occur five to six times within a 24-hour period, disrupting business activities and office operations. Shopkeepers and small business owners reported declining sales and operational difficulties due to frequent outages.
Pratyasha Mondal, a ninth-grade student in Gopalganj town, said her studies are being hampered due to the irregular electricity supply. "Most of the time there is no electricity. It is very difficult to study in this heat, especially at night," she said.
Internet service provider Sanjay Biswas said the repeated power cuts are also affecting his business. "Frequent outages are damaging equipment and frustrating customers. We cannot provide stable internet service as the electricity keeps fluctuating," he said.
Amid the ongoing crisis, many consumers are increasingly relying on alternative power sources such as IPS and solar systems, while others are planning to install them.
Officials from WZPDCL in Gopalganj acknowledged the situation. Executive Engineer Md Mainuddin said the district has around 30,000 consumers against a demand of 16 megawatts of electricity.
"We supply whatever electricity we receive from the national grid," he said.
He added that the district generally receives 8 to 10 megawatts against a demand of 16 megawatts, which was distributed through rotational load-shedding.
