10 hurt as villagers attack REB office for power

Ten people were injured in clashes with Ansars when over 100 people including women attacked the Thikraband REB office in Batiaghata. Five of the injured were admitted to Batiaghata Health Complex.

Witnesses and police said stick-wielding angry people attacked the office and pelted brickbats in demand for smooth power supply. The clashes ensued when Ansars on duty at the REB office charged batons on the demonstrators.

The people from Fatemabad, Krishnanagar and Shachibunie villages in the area attacked the office as they were without electricity since April 14 as a transformer went out of order due to technical fault.

People in the area became angry when an REB official allegedly demanded Tk 40,000 from the villagers to replace the transformer, local people claimed.

No REB official was available at Thikraband for comment after the clash. Locals said they escaped fearing further attack as the alleged demand for money went public.

Meanwhile severe power crisis has also created acute scarcity of pipeline water in Khulna city. Load shedding at short intervals and voltage fluctuation are responsible for the scarcity of water.

In many city areas, residents said they were buying water at high prices. Businessman Latifur Rahman of Khanjahan Ali road said he bought water at Tk 4 per pitcher. Like him, many others are buying water in the area, he said.

Residents in most areas of Khulna city said they are facing acute shortage of water for two weeks.

Executive Engineer Abdul Hannan of Water Works Department of Khulna City Corporation (KCC) said three crore gallons of water are needed in the city every day. But KCC can not supply more than one crore gallons because of erratic power supply and low voltage, he said.

There are 3,442 deep and 6,250 shallow tubewells in Khulna city. Most of these tube wells are not functioning properly due to power crisis, Hannan said.

It was gathered that the number of deep tubewells is higher than officially sanctioned and maintained by KCC. KCC sources said the number of deep tubewells is over 5,000 though 3442 were sanctioned officially. These extra deep tubewells were allowed in last five years by violating rules due to alleged political influence, KCC sources said.