Anisul Islam Noor :
The Power distribution entities have claimed there was no pending application with them for giving electricity connection right now, as the government gave special emphasis on industrial and household connection as per requirement, said State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid.
But the applicants are till confused because they say that power connection infrastructure in many areas are too weak for industrial connection.
On the other hand, those who are given connection are suffering for low voltage, sudden collapse of substation and corruption. Besides, clip of electricity without prior-warning hampers quality of production.
Though applications for power connection are not pending in the urban industrial belt, the rural industrialization gets less priority in Bangladesh. Still more than 8,000 entrepreneurs wait for years to get power supply.
They said that the government was oblivious of its constitutional obligation to promote rural industrialization for narrowing the urban-rural disparities. Rural industrialization would remain a pipe dream without uninterrupted power supply, said Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Vice-President Mahbubul Alam.
He urged the government to help the applicants set up industries in the rural areas. Rural Electrification Board provided new power connections to entrepreneurs for setting up 3,500 industries in eight years since 2007.
Applications from 8,490 more entrepreneurs seeking power supply for setting up factories remained pending since 2007, says a report of REB.
REB Chairman Major General Moin Uddin said, REB would require additional power supply to the tune of 1,130MW. Besides, he said, overloaded distribution infrastructure and other issues also stood on the way of providing the new industrial connections in the countryside.
The grounds provided by the REB chairman was discarded by energy adviser of Consumer Association of Bangladesh M Shamsul Alam saying that actual power generation was too inadequate to meet the demand for setting up industries in the rural areas.
The Power distribution entities have claimed there was no pending application with them for giving electricity connection right now, as the government gave special emphasis on industrial and household connection as per requirement, said State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid.
But the applicants are till confused because they say that power connection infrastructure in many areas are too weak for industrial connection.
On the other hand, those who are given connection are suffering for low voltage, sudden collapse of substation and corruption. Besides, clip of electricity without prior-warning hampers quality of production.
Though applications for power connection are not pending in the urban industrial belt, the rural industrialization gets less priority in Bangladesh. Still more than 8,000 entrepreneurs wait for years to get power supply.
They said that the government was oblivious of its constitutional obligation to promote rural industrialization for narrowing the urban-rural disparities. Rural industrialization would remain a pipe dream without uninterrupted power supply, said Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Vice-President Mahbubul Alam.
He urged the government to help the applicants set up industries in the rural areas. Rural Electrification Board provided new power connections to entrepreneurs for setting up 3,500 industries in eight years since 2007.
Applications from 8,490 more entrepreneurs seeking power supply for setting up factories remained pending since 2007, says a report of REB.
REB Chairman Major General Moin Uddin said, REB would require additional power supply to the tune of 1,130MW. Besides, he said, overloaded distribution infrastructure and other issues also stood on the way of providing the new industrial connections in the countryside.
The grounds provided by the REB chairman was discarded by energy adviser of Consumer Association of Bangladesh M Shamsul Alam saying that actual power generation was too inadequate to meet the demand for setting up industries in the rural areas.
