UNB, Dhaka :
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said on Tuesday that some 80 lakh (8 million) consumers remained without electricity across the country after Cyclone Sitrang hit Bangladesh.
“Of this, some 60 lakh (6 million) are under the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) and the remaining consumers are of other organisations like Nesco and WZPDCO,” he told reporters at his ministry on Tuesday.
He noted that power supply to 70 percent of the affected areas will be possible to restore by Tuesday evening while the rest 30 percent will get electricity by Wednesday afternoon.
Currently, the total power consumers are 4.8 crore (48 million) across the country.
Nasrul Hamid said the power supply was disrupted mainly by the falling of trees on the transmission and distribution lines.
He said that many electric poles were uprooted by the cyclone that caused blackout in many areas.
The state minister, however, said the total damage was not calculated yet.
“It will take some more time to get a complete picture of the damages”, he said.