5,000 people without electricity as Sitakunda blast damages transmission line

News Desk :
More than 5,000 residents of Sitakunda’s Kadam Rasul are living without electricity for the last three days after the blast in Seema Oxygen Plant heavily damaged the power transmission lines of whole area.
The electricity transmission line in the area was completely destroyed in the explosion, Engineer Sheikh Kausar Masum, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Fouzdarhat Marketing and Distribution Branch, told the media.
“All equipment including pins and cables has been damaged. We initially estimated the losses amounted to Tk15 lakh,” he said.
“Transformers are also likely to be damaged due to a short circuit in the main transmission line. In that case, the amount of damage may exceed crores.”
He also said that there are five transformers in that part of Keshavpur. “If we calculate 200 connections from each transformer, around 1,000 families and several factories in the area are without electricity.”
The official said that the repair work will begin soon after getting clearance from the Fire Service and Civil Defence authorities.
However, if the transformers are damaged, it will take more time for the situation to normalise, he added.
As a result, more than 5,000 residents of the area have been suffering from a power cut for the past three days.
“We are unable to get water pumped with a motor as there is no electricity. We have to get water from a tube well located far away,” Sultana Razia, a homemaker residing in Keshavpur area, told TBS.
Ali Akkas, a resident of the area, said that the power cut has disrupted normal life. They have to suffer unbearable heat in the daytime. “I contacted the electricity department several times but did not get any solution,” he said.