Megacity Dhaka is getting rid of the load-shedding crisis as its residents are now having uninterrupted power supply for the government steps towards bringing the country under 100 percent electricity coverage by 2021, officials said.
“There is no load-shedding in capital Dhaka now as dwellers are hardly facing any disruption of power supply,” Bikash Dewan, Managing Director of Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited,told media on Saturday . He said the city’s residents now only witness power disruption when “we have to keep the supply suspended for maintenance works and technical problems.”
The new generation city dwellers almost do not face the load-shedding crisis, which was once a common phenomenon in city life to their previous generation.
Visiting the city’s Sutrapur, Lalbagh, Nilkhet, Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Farmgate, Asad Gate, Mirpur, Monipuripara, Malibagh, Kakrail, Segun Bagicha, Paribagh, Kathalbagan, Khilgaon, Kamalapur, Motijheel and Purana Paltan areas, it was found the residents are hardly experiencing any load-shedding.
Talking to media, Mohammad Idris Ali, a resident of Dhanmondi area, said he had become habituated to severe load-shedding, “but now we are getting uninterrupted electricity round the clock”.
Thanking to the incumbent government, he said, “We are now utilizing electronic devices in our works, daily life and for entertainment purposes for availability of uninterrupted electricity supply.” “We suffered a lot in the past …
Now we can smoothly carry on our studies”, said Prakash Biswas, a student of a Nawabpur school in old Dhaka.
Sharif Ahmed, a motor mechanic of Dholaikhal, said due to load-shedding their works were hampered a lot but now they hardly face any problem.
Sharing his experience, Mehedi Hasan, a NGO worker, said electricity is a necessary component for economic and social development of a country. Now, the country is doing very well in power generation which will change the fate of the common people, he observed.
According to the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the country’s power generation capacity stands at 20,775 MW bringing 92 percent people under electricity coverage.
The government has increased the number of power plants to 100 from 27 over the last 10 years, and raised the power generation capacity to 20,775 MW and power connections to 3.15 crore.
Per capita electricity generation has reached 464 kilowatt hour and the record 11,623 MW power was generated on September 19 last year.
The government formulated a roadmap for the power and energy sector to reach power services to every house by 2021.
Besides, tender is being processed for setting up 23 more power plants having 7,461-MW capacity. The government has also undertaken a plan to construct 19 power plants with 20,156-MW generation capacity.
“Access to quality and reliable electricity is no more a dream as the country’s 92 percent people are now getting uninterrupted power supply. But only 47 percent people got the facility before 2009,” State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told media earlier.
“We are living in a society where it is difficult to imagine any development without electricity. The electricity supply does not face any interruption unless there are mechanical problems,” Nasrul Hamid said.
He said employees of the power sector are now providing electricity connections to consumers as early as possible due to proper supervision.
The ministry sources said the government is also importing 1,160 MW power from India and process is underway to import more power from other countries.
