10 upazilas brought under 100pc electricity coverage
Faisal Mahmud
The Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) has successfully implemented 100 per cent electrification in 10 upazilas as part of the Electricity for all by 2018 programme.
A BREB official told The Independent that the Palli Bidyut Samiti (PBS) under the board achieved the feat by this June. Six more upazilas will be brought under complete
electricity coverage within September and 19 more will be added to the list by this December, he said.
The upazilas with 100 per cent electricity coverage are Tungipara upazila under Gopalganj PBS, Bandar upazila under Narayanganj PBS-1, Palash upazila under Narshingdi PBS, Boalkhali upazila under Chittagong PBS, Sadar upazila under Comilla PBS-2, Bholahaat upazila under Chapainawabganj PBS, Tongibari upazila under Munshiganj PBS, Raujan upazila under Chittagong PBS-2, Dagonbhuyian upazila under Feni PBS and Poba upazila under Rajshahi PBS.
Gopalganj PBS general manager Md Harun said they had been able to provide electricity in all villages in Tungipara upazilla in Gopalganj district.
New electricity subscribers were being created each month and the Gopalganj PBS was giving electricity connections to them, he added.
Mohammad Ilias, an electricity subscriber in Tungipara upazila, said that 100 per cent electrification was a matter of pride for them. No other upazila in Gopalganj district has got this privilege yet, he added.
Mohammad Kabir of Bholahaat upazilla said, We can avail electricity almost all the time now. There are power cuts sometimes, but were extremely happy because our upazila now has 100 per cent electricity coverage.
BREB chairman Maj. Gen. Main Uddin said the board had provided electricity connections to three million houses in the 2015-16 fiscal year. He added that the government comprehensively extended electrification activities through the construction of lines and connections to bring power facilities to the doorstep of every citizen by 2018.
In order to implement Vision-2021 declared by the Prime Minister, the BREB is committed to providing all people with power facilities, Main Uddin said, adding that all board officials and employees were trying their best to implement it.
Lauding the BREBs electrification programme, Bangldesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) chairman AR Khan said the board was doing exemplary work by gradually giving full electricity coverage at the upazila level.
He also said that in order to enhance industries in rural areas, priority should be given to new electricity connections and expansion of the electricity distribution network. He further said lifeline consumers (1-50 unit) should be educated and motivated to use electricity in an efficient manner by curbing wastage. The BERC chairman said new and modernised sub-stations should be built to replace the old ones, and there should be provisions for pre-paid metering and modernisation of the National Load Distribution Center (NLDC). AR Khan also mentioned that the GMs of 77 PBSs should work on curbing internal malpractices, nepotism, lack of accountability, unethical commissioning of contractors and extortion for the successful and sustainable implementation of the Electricity for all by 2018 programme.
