Power supply to Railway East Zone restored after 5 hours

Electricity connection to the Railway East Zone office in Chattogram has been restored more than five hours after it was disconnected this morning due to Tk1.57 crore in unpaid bills.

The power cut occurred around 11:00am on Monday (24 June).

Ashok Kumar Chowdhury, executive engineer of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Chattogram distribution and transmission department, said the Railway East Zone's unpaid bills accumulated over the past six months, totaling approximately Tk1.57 crore. Despite multiple notices, the railway office failed to respond, leading to the disconnection of the power supply.

Habibur Rahman, chief electrical engineer of Railway East Zone, told The Business Standard the connection was restored around 4:00pm.

Chattogram Divisional Railway Manager Saiful Islam expressed frustration, stating, "If the government provides us with the necessary budget, we can settle the outstanding bills. The power supply should not be completely cut off. This situation has occurred multiple times before. Even the control office was without electricity. If any train accident occurs, will the PDB take responsibility?"