City dwellers suffer in severe heat, load shedding chaos

Staff Reporter  :
The city dwellers are currently experiencing a severe heat wave, with temperatures reaching record highs. Adding to the discomfort, frequent load shedding has further disrupted the daily lives of residents.
In Mirpur, Rampura, Farmgate, Mohammadpur, and other parts of Dhaka, residents are struggling to cope with the unbearable heat and frequent power outages. The situation is particularly dire during Sheri and Iftar times during the holy month of Ramzan.
Many residents have expressed frustration and anger at the situation, with some saying that their lives have been completely disrupted.
“It’s impossible to sleep at night due to the heat, and during the day we can’t even use our fans because of the load shedding,” said Rajib Ahmed, a resident of Mirpur told the New Nation.
Rashed Chowdhury, a resident of Mollapara in Taltola, said that one of the transformers malfunctioned with a loud noise just before Sehri on Monday, and their electricity was not restored until around 3 pm. They had to endure unbearable conditions during this time. However, they experienced several more power outages later on.
Akhtar Hossain from Banasree informed that electricity goes out three to four times a day. On one hand, the temperature is increasing, and on the other hand, load shedding is also increasing. Many people are falling ill due to the heat.
Jamil Ahmed from Mohammadpur said that electricity is going out several times during the day. “The weather is hot, and there are frequent power cuts,” he said.
According to the power office, electricity generation has dropped, causing disruptions in the electricity supply across the country.
However, regarding this crisis, the Managing Director of Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC), Bikash Dewan, told the media that there is no load shedding. He mentioned that there were some issues in certain areas where there was no electricity supply, but it cannot be called load shedding.
“Today we are providing a maximum of 1800 megawatts of electricity in our area,” he added.
However, the Power Division is stating that in various districts of Dhaka division, a total of 60 megawatts of load shedding is being implemented. The demand for electricity in Dhaka is around 5,220 megawatts, while the supply is only 5,160 megawatts.
With no relief in sight, many residents are hoping that the government and power authorities will take urgent action to address the issue and ease their suffering.
The current heat wave is part of a larger trend of rising temperatures across the country. In recent years, Bangladesh has experienced some of the hottest temperatures on record, with experts warning that climate change is exacerbating the problem.
However, residents are skeptical about the effectiveness of these measures and are calling for more urgent action to be taken.
As the situation continues to deteriorate, many residents are resorting to extreme measures to cope with the heat, including staying indoors and avoiding outdoor activities.
With no immediate relief in sight, it is clear that the situation in Dhaka and across the country is becoming increasingly dire, and urgent action is needed to address this growing crisis.