Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 839 Thu. October 05, 2006  
   
Front Page


Outage
Road blocked, power office attacked again


Agitation for power continued yesterday all over the country including in Dhaka and Teknaf.

In the capital, power starved people blocked the Tongi diversion road at Tejgaon and the Jatrabari-Demra road for about an hour that led to a huge traffic gridlock in a wide area.

Residents from BG press staff quarter at Tejagaon and Begunbari vandalised five vehicles on Tongi diversion road and blocked the road in the evening following Iftar. Hundreds of people from all walks of life came out of mosques after their Magrib prayers and joined the agitating people on the street demanding relief from power outages.

Locals complained of having no power since Tuesday evening after the transmitter for the area went out of order and the authorities did not even bother to repair it.

The agitators withdrew their demonstration after police reached the scene.

Meanwhile, people from Kajla, Bhangapress and Mridhabari blockaded the Demra-Jatrabari road at 11:30am in demand of regular supply of electricity in the area.

The agitating locals said they came out on the streets to protest the acute power outages in the area, especially during the Sehri and Iftar hours in the last few days.

The demonstrators withdrew the barricades as the Rab and police officials assured them of taking steps to improve the power supply.

In Teknaf, locals ransacked a power supply office at Teknaf Market before the Iftar in protest against frequent load shedding, said the witnesses.

Police clubbed agitating people to bring the situation under control that left five injured.

Picture
A scared family sits helplessly in a taxicab as electricity-starved people of Tejgaon in the capital vandalised the vehicle yesterday while protesting against persisting load-shedding. PHOTO: STAR