Frequent power cuts hit homes, businesses at Dumuria

 
DUMURIA, KHULNA, Aug 6:  Frequent and prolonged power outages have severely disrupted daily life in Dumuria Upazila of Khulna, with residents complaining of extended load shedding that is affecting households, businesses, educational institutions and agricultural irrigation.

Consumers under the Dumuria Zonal Office of the Khulna Rural Electrification Association (Palli Bidyut Samity) said electricity remains unavailable for more than half of a 24-hour period, leaving them struggling to cope, particularly amid the ongoing heat.     
                                                                      
Residents said students and elderly people are among those suffering the most as uninterrupted electricity is unavailable even at night. 

Production at small and medium-sized industries has also been affected, while farmers say irrigation has been disrupted due to the power shortages, putting crops at risk.

Seeking an explanation for the persistent outages, this correspondent contacted Sheikh Md Abdus Salam, Assistant General Manager (O&M) of the Dumuria Zonal Office.

He said the crisis had arisen because the area was receiving less electricity than required.

"We are not getting adequate power from the national grid at the Dumuria substation. As a result, we have no option but to impose area-based rotational load shedding," he said.

Deputy General Manager Sanjoy Roy echoed the explanation, saying electricity demand during peak hours far exceeds the supply allocated from the national grid.

"During peak hours, Dumuria's demand is much higher than the amount of electricity we receive from the grid. To manage the shortfall, we are distributing electricity in a controlled manner through scheduled load shedding," he said.

He described the situation as temporary and expressed hope that the crisis would ease once power supply from the national grid increases.

Local consumers, however, said authorities should ensure a fair distribution of electricity instead of citing the national power shortage alone.

They urged the authorities to take effective measures to improve the supply as soon as possible, saying the ongoing outages are disrupting education, economic activities and agricultural production across the upazila.