STAR REPORT

People across Sylhet division are enduring worsening power cuts as load-shedding has intensified over the past week.

Bangladesh Power Development Board and Rural Electrification Board officials say supply remains far below demand, forcing offices and businesses to close early.

In Sylhet, BPDB recorded a peak demand of 210 megawatts at 5:00pm yesterday, against a supply of 180MW. “We are scheduling around 30MW of load-shedding based on the allocation from Power Grid Bangladesh,” said Mohammed Imam Hossain, BPDB’s chief engineer in Sylhet.

The situation is more acute in rural areas, where only about two-thirds of demand is being met, resulting in prolonged outages.

Paresh Chandra Mondal, superintending engineer of REB’s Sylhet zone -- covering all four districts of the division and Brahmanbaria -- said peak demand on Sunday stood at 576MW, against a supply of 361MW, leaving a 215MW deficit.

Residents say the outages are disrupting livelihoods and studies.

Abir Hasan, who runs a mobile repair shop in Tahirpur of Sunamganj, said, “We are asked to close by 7:00pm but get only two to three hours of electricity during the day. Running a business like this is impossible.”

Tanim Ahmed, a student of Murari Chand College, said frequent outages are hampering exam preparation.

Meanwhile, in Noakhali, residents across nine upazilas are facing severe load-shedding. Around 1.29 lakh BPDB consumers and 8.2 lakh users under the Noakhali Palli Bidyut Samity are affected.

Palli Bidyut sources said a demand of about 200MW is being met with only two-thirds of supply. BPDB officials reported receiving just 15–17MW against a demand of 36MW in Noakhali municipality and surrounding areas.

“In 24 hours, we get no more than five to six hours of electricity, and that too in short intervals,” said Poli Akhter of Chatkhil upazila.

The crisis is also hitting healthcare services hard. Shipon Saha of Prime Hospital Ltd said the 150-bed facility faces 4-5 daily

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