A severe nor’wester storm has disrupted electricity supply across large parts of Akkelpur Upazila in Joypurhat, leaving at least 75 villages without power and causing hardship for nearly 30,000 consumers.
The sudden storm struck at around 1:15pm on Wednesday and severely damaged the local electricity distribution network. According to local sources, power outages continued in many affected areas until at least 10:00am on Thursday.
Residents said the strong winds caused electricity poles to lean or collapse in several places. Fallen trees also landed on overhead transmission lines, while snapped wires at multiple points forced the shutdown of feeder lines supplying electricity to the affected areas. As a result, many villages remained in darkness after sunset.
The prolonged outage created difficulties for students, traders and ordinary residents. Many households were unable to charge mobile phones, disrupting communication. Small business owners and families also expressed concern over food spoilage because refrigerators remained without power for extended periods.
Although electricity supply was partially restored in some areas of Akkelpur municipal town around five and a half hours after the storm, several localities — including Hastabasantapur, Palpara, Jianipara, Sreekrishnapur and Shanta Mohalla — were still without electricity on Thursday morning.
Mahmudur Rahman, a resident of the Palpara area in Akkelpur municipality, said his home remained without electricity despite nearby houses receiving supply through a different section of the grid.
“Our section still has no electricity, while houses only a short distance away have power. Even a minor storm often disrupts our line. We did not receive electricity from Wednesday afternoon until 8:00am on Thursday. The food stored in our refrigerator is close to spoiling,” he said.
Akram Hossain, a resident of Maligram village in Raikali Union, said electricity had remained disconnected since the storm struck, adding that residents were facing considerable hardship.
Habibur Rahman, chairman of Gopinathpur Union Parishad, said the entire union had remained without electricity since the storm. He noted that the prolonged disruption had caused significant suffering for local residents.
Officials of the Akkelpur Rural Electrification Office said the extent of the damage meant that full restoration of power could take additional time. According to office sources, at least 45 electricity poles were damaged during the storm, while trees falling on lines caused further disruption in multiple locations.
Repair work is currently underway at several damaged points in the network. Multiple technical teams have been deployed in the field to restore the affected lines as quickly as possible.
Power Disruption Overview
| বিষয় |
তথ্য |
| Affected area |
Akkelpur Upazila, Joypurhat |
| Time of storm |
Around 1:15pm, Wednesday |
| Villages without power |
At least 75 |
| Consumers affected |
প্রায় 30,000 |
| Damaged electricity poles |
At least 45 |
| Areas partially restored |
Parts of Akkelpur municipal town and Rukindipur Union |
| Areas still affected |
Hastabasantapur, Palpara, Jianipara, Sreekrishnapur, Shanta Mohalla and surrounding areas |
Abdur Rahman, Deputy General Manager of the Akkelpur regional office under Joypurhat Palli Bidyut Samity, told Prothom Alo on Thursday morning that electricity supply had been restored in parts of Akkelpur municipality and Rukindipur Union. However, around 30,000 consumers were still without electricity at that time.
He added that emergency repair work was continuing and efforts were underway to restore normal power supply as quickly as possible.
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