A dispute between the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and the Power Development Board (PDB) over outstanding electricity bills and vehicle documentation left the BRTA’s Chattogram office without power for around three and a half hours on Thursday, disrupting services and inconveniencing hundreds of people.
While the PDB maintains that the disconnection was carried out in accordance with regulations over unpaid bills, the BRTA alleges that a disagreement over the documentation of a project vehicle may have contributed to the incident. The PDB has rejected the allegation of personal animosity.
Amid the conflicting claims, questions have emerged over the coordination between the two government agencies and their accountability to service seekers.
The BRTA’s Chattogram office in Baluchara lost power at around 10:30am on 29 October. Electricity was restored at approximately 2pm.
The incident occurred on the final day for updating vehicle documents without late penalties. The outage disrupted normal operations, leaving many customers unable to complete procedures or deposit fees at banks before the 3pm deadline.
Dispute over Outstanding Bills
Md Sanaul Haque, Deputy Director (Engineer) of BRTA Chattogram Metro Circle-2, told The TIMES of Bangladesh that officials initially assumed the outage was caused by load-shedding. They contacted the PDB after noticing that electricity supply remained normal in surrounding areas.
The PDB informed them that the connection had been disconnected over outstanding bills of around Tk83,000, he said.
Sanaul Haque questioned the circumstances of the disconnection, stating that the office typically incurs monthly electricity bills of approximately Tk100,000. He also questioned whether adequate notice had been provided before the supply was cut off during office hours.
He alleged that tensions had developed over a vehicle sent to the BRTA for documentation updates. According to him, the vehicle was being used by a project director under a development project, and complications arose over the applicable government rules for updating its documents.
Sanaul Haque claimed that the disagreement may have influenced the subsequent action against the BRTA office. He alleged that the PDB officials had responded to the earlier dispute by saying, in effect, that since the BRTA had shown them the rules, they would show the BRTA theirs.The BRTA plans to submit a formal complaint to the PDB’s Chief Engineer on 1 November, with copies to higher authorities, he said.
After electricity was restored, BRTA staff continued working until around 9–10pm, providing services, including fitness certificates, to more than 500 customers. However, those unable to deposit fees within the banking deadline may have lost the opportunity to avoid late penalties.
PDB denies personal vendetta
Mohammad Sanaullah, Executive Engineer of the PDB’s Sholashahar Sales and Distribution Division, rejected the allegation that personal differences prompted the disconnection.
He said a prepaid meter at the BRTA office had remained in a non-vending state for an extended period, with approximately Tk83,200 in outstanding bills.
According to him, repeated reminders had failed to secure payment or the surrender of the meter. The connection was therefore disconnected under the direction of higher authorities and in accordance with established procedures.
Sanaullah said warnings about outstanding bills were issued through electricity bills, while attempts had also been made to contact the BRTA through letters and verbal communications, including on the day before the disconnection.
He added that the connection was restored after the BRTA authorities assured the PDB that the outstanding bills would be paid.
Conflicting Figures on Arrears
The amount of outstanding bills has also become a point of contention within the PDB.
AKM Jasim Uddin, Superintending Engineer of the PDB’s Operation and Maintenance Circle (East Chattogram), told The TIMES that arrears against two BRTA meters ranged from Tk380,000 to Tk450,000.
He alleged that repeated letters seeking payment had gone unheeded and suggested that failures in field-level operations and local office management had contributed to the situation.
The Tk83,200 cited by the executive engineer might represent only part of the outstanding amount against a particular meter, he said, adding that bills for three to four months remained unpaid.
Jasim Uddin also said the PDB had no clear prior understanding of the BRTA’s allegations concerning the vehicle documentation dispute.
Consumers bear the cost
S M Nazer Hossain, Vice-President of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), condemned the inconvenience caused by the dispute.
He said ordinary people should not suffer because of disagreements or administrative complications between government service providers.
