Public life in Magura has reached a point of collapse as the district grapples with 15 to 16 hours of daily load shedding amidst a punishing heatwave. The crisis has particularly affected Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) candidates, whose examinations are scheduled to commence on 2 July.
Beyond students, the situation has become unbearable for businessmen, children, the elderly, and residents across all sectors.
According to the local weather observation centre, the month of Ashar has seen high levels of atmospheric humidity and low wind speeds. The absence of rainfall has caused moisture to evaporate from the soil, creating uncomfortable and damp conditions.
Over the past week, temperatures in the district have fluctuated between 35 and 38 degrees Celsius, and weather experts predict that this heatwave may persist for several more days.
HSC candidates are among the worst affected by the outages. Tania Khatun, a student from Nahata village in Mohammadpur Upazila, noted that the lack of electricity during both day and night has made it impossible to sleep or study. “I am in a state of panic regarding my health and preparation for the exams,” she said.
Similarly, Sajib, a candidate from Langalbadh village in Sreepur Upazila, reported that power is being cut at least 12 times a day, with each outage lasting over an hour. He noted that the sweltering heat is causing dehydration and preventing students from focusing on their studies with only three days remaining before the exams.
Local college teachers, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned that it would be nearly impossible to conduct exams fairly in rooms crowded with 30 to 40 students if fans are not operational.
The power crisis has also crippled various small and medium-scale industries, businesses, and the agricultural sector. Poultry farmers are facing significant losses as the extreme heat is causing chickens to die. Monirul Islam, a poultry trader from Kachundi village, stated that he is struggling to keep his farm birds alive during 16 to 17 hours of daily load shedding.
Mohitul Islam, general manager of Magura Palli Bidyut Samity, said the district requires an average of 65 MW of electricity daily for its 270,000 customers. However, they are currently receiving only 60 to 70 per cent of this demand.
Although the Samity attempts to rotate load shedding in a pattern of one hour off for every two hours of power, central load shedding from Dhaka often disrupts this schedule. He noted that on Saturday, central authorities imposed six hours of additional load shedding.
The situation is equally dire in Magura town under the jurisdiction of the Power Development Board (PDB), where 10 to 12 daily power cuts have been reported.
Sources from the PDB Magura residential engineer’s office confirmed that they are receiving only 9 to 10 MW of electricity against a daily demand of 18 MW, making frequent load shedding unavoidable.
