Around 50,000 residents across Aditmari and Kaliganj upazilas in Lalmonirhat have been without electricity for four consecutive days after a sub-station transformer was burnt out in a lightning strike.
The disruption, which has now lasted 92 hours, began when a 10 MVA transformer at the Aditmari-2 (Hajiganj) sub-station was struck during a severe storm four days ago. The failure has affected nearly 22,000 consumers across six unions, plunging homes and businesses into prolonged darkness.
Residents say the extended outage has brought daily life to a near standstill, triggering acute water shortages and leaving mobile phones and other essential devices without charge. The situation has been further worsened by intense heat, with children, elderly people and hospital patients among those most severely affected.
Students are also struggling to cope ahead of crucial examinations. HSC candidate Azizul Islam from the Amena area said the prolonged power cut was seriously disrupting his preparation.
Local businesses have been hit hard, with traders at Hajiganj Bazar and surrounding markets reporting significant losses as refrigerated goods have spoiled during the prolonged outage.
“I am feeling the agony of having no electricity in my very bones. Normal life has simply ceased to exist,” said local businessman Lutfar Rahman. Traders warned that losses would continue to mount unless power supply was restored urgently.
Officials said efforts are underway to restore electricity. Muhammed Abdul Fattah, Deputy General Manager (DGM) of Aditmari Palli Bidyut Samiti, confirmed that the transformer was damaged beyond repair after the lightning strike.
“We are not sitting idle. A new transformer has already been brought from Dhaka and installation work is progressing rapidly. We expect the power supply to return very soon,” he said.
Aditmari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Gunjan Biswas said the local administration is maintaining continuous contact with the power authorities.
“Every necessary step is being taken to restore electricity as quickly as possible and ease public suffering,” he added.
