A ruling party lawmaker has said persistent power shortages in rural areas are leaving them in an awkward position, as they are increasingly confronted by angry residents over the electricity crisis during visits to their constituencies.
Speaking during a supplementary question in Parliament on 8 July, Mostafizur Rahman Babul, member of parliament from Jamalpur-3, said electricity had become one of the biggest concerns in rural Bangladesh.
"Power shortages have become a major issue in villages. Whenever we visit our constituencies, people raise the issue with us. It puts us in an embarrassing and uncomfortable situation," he said.
The remarks came during the 21st sitting of the second – and first budget – session of the 13th Parliament, presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.
Describing the situation in his constituency, Babul said peak-hour electricity demand in Melandaha and Madarganj upazilas stands at 43MW, but only 27MW is currently being supplied. During off-peak hours, demand is 38MW against a supply of just 25MW.
As a result, the area is experiencing load-shedding of between 34% and 38%, on average, he said, asking when consumers could expect an uninterrupted power supply.
