The general manager of Pirojpur Rural Electricity Association, Md Altaf Hossain, has been released from his duties and attached to the office of the supervising engineer of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board’s Barishal zone following a power outage during the Prime Minister’s virtual address in Kaukhali.
The decision means Mr Hossain will remain attached to the Barishal zonal office until further orders. The development was confirmed on Monday night, 14 September, by Md Kamruzzaman, who is currently serving as the additional general manager of the Pirojpur Rural Electricity Association.
The power disruption occurred on Saturday, 12 September, during a virtual conference involving the Prime Minister and representatives from districts across the country. The conference was organised as part of a nationwide initiative to strengthen cleanliness drives aimed at preventing dengue.
In Pirojpur’s Kaukhali upazila, arrangements had been made at the upazila auditorium for the Prime Minister’s address to be broadcast live. The programme began at 9am. However, only about a minute after the address started, electricity to the auditorium was suddenly cut off. Power was restored shortly afterwards.
The incident caused considerable dissatisfaction among local people because electricity reportedly remained available in other parts of the upazila at the time. The fact that the disruption occurred at the venue where the Prime Minister’s address was being broadcast drew particular attention.
An official order was issued the following day, Sunday, 13 September, by Mohammad Moinul Hasan, director (administration) of the Human Resources Directorate of the Rural Electricity Associations under the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board. Under the order, Mr Hossain was attached to the office of the supervising engineer of the Barishal zone and instructed to join the new office on Monday, 14 September.
The order also assigned the senior deputy general manager of the Pirojpur Rural Electricity Association the additional responsibility of general manager, along with financial and administrative powers. This arrangement is to remain in place while Mr Hossain is attached to the Barishal office.
Kaukhali Upazila Nirbahi Officer (additional charge) Raisul Islam said he had informed the rural electricity authorities about the matter beforehand. Despite that, the electricity supply at the conference venue was interrupted while the Prime Minister was speaking.
Mr Islam said electricity was available elsewhere within the upazila complex at the time and suggested that a communication gap may have contributed to the incident. He later learnt that the official concerned had been attached to the Barishal zonal office.
Md Kamruzzaman, the additional general manager of the Pirojpur Rural Electricity Association, offered an explanation for how the disruption may have occurred. According to him, the electricity authorities had received a complaint that there was no power at the UNO’s office. Line workers were sent to inspect the situation.
The workers apparently understood that the meeting was being held at the UNO’s office and consequently disconnected the relevant power line. That action, according to Mr Kamruzzaman, inadvertently interrupted the electricity supply at the actual conference venue.
He said the local electricity office’s officer-in-charge was contacted immediately after the problem became apparent. The interruption lasted for roughly two minutes, from 9.42am to 9.44am, according to his account.
The incident has therefore been attributed by the local electricity authorities to a possible misunderstanding over the location of the meeting and a failure in communication. The subsequent administrative action against t
