Rajshahi has been facing load-shedding for the past two weeks. At the very start of the Boro season, power is being cut for at least three to four hours every day, raising fears that Boro cultivation will be disrupted.

According to the Northern Electricity Supply Company (NESCO), daily electricity demand in the eight districts of Rajshahi division is 276 megawatts, but supply has been lower for several days. On Wednesday, 18 January, Rajshahi division received 222 megawatts, a shortfall of 54 megawatts.

The power cuts at the start of the season have put farmers in difficulty, and city residents are also suffering from the lack of power when they need it. Many have been calling NESCO's hotline about the problem.

Abdus Sabur, a trader in the city's Shaheb Bazar area, said: "Our market runs all day, but the power goes at least three or four times a day, for about three or four hours in all. It causes a lot of trouble; you can't do business in the dark. Nobody answers the hotline. We have been forced to use candles."

Masud Ali, a farmer in the Basudebpur area of Rajshahi's Godagari upazila, has grown paddy on three bighas this time. "We are worried by the way the power has been coming and going since we transplanted. If there is this problem giving water now, how will we farm the whole season? I am wondering whether I will be able to irrigate on time," he said.

Majdar Hossain, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Rajshahi, said Boro cultivation has begun and many have planted, though most farmers are now busy preparing land. Almost all land in the area depends on water from deep tubewells. So far there has not been much demand for water in the fields, so the power problem is not having much effect, and he was hopeful it would not become serious.

Md Abdur Rashid, chief engineer of NESCO's sales and distribution division in the Rajshahi region, said they have had to load-shed for the past 15 days because they are not receiving enough power to meet demand, sometimes at night as well.

He said they are not getting the power they need from the national grid. "We don't know what the problem is either. Once we get power properly, the problem will be solved," he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.