The general manager (GM) of Pirojpur Rural Electricity Association, Md Altaf Hossain, has been released from his current duties following a power outage during the Prime Minister’s virtual address in Kaukhali upazila.
Mr Hossain has been attached, until further orders, to the office of the supervising engineer of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board’s Barishal zone. The development was confirmed on Monday night, 14 September, by Md Kamruzzaman, who is currently serving as the additional general manager of the Pirojpur Rural Electricity Association.
The incident took place on Saturday, 12 September, when Prime Minister Tareq Rahman joined a virtual conference with all districts as part of a nationwide drive to strengthen cleanliness campaigns aimed at preventing dengue.
A live broadcast of the Prime Minister’s address was arranged at the Kaukhali Upazila Parishad auditorium at 9am. However, just one minute after the programme began, the electricity supply to the conference venue was interrupted. Power returned a short time later.
The outage caused anger among local residents, particularly because electricity reportedly remained available in other parts of the upazila at the time. The disruption was confined to the venue where the Prime Minister’s virtual address was being broadcast, raising questions about the coordination of power supply arrangements for the event.
An official order was issued on Sunday, 13 September, by Mohammad Moinul Hasan, director (administration) of the Human Resources Directorate of the Rural Electricity Associations under the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board. The order instructed Mr Hossain to report to the supervising engineer’s office in the Barishal zone on Monday, 14 September.
The same order assigned the senior deputy general manager of the Pirojpur Rural Electricity Association the additional responsibility of GM, along with financial and administrative authority. The arrangement is intended to ensure that the association’s administrative and operational activities continue following Mr Hossain’s attachment.
Kaukhali Upazila Nirbahi Officer (additional charge) Raisul Islam said he had informed the rural electricity authorities about the matter beforehand. Despite that communication, the electricity supply was interrupted while the Prime Minister was speaking.
According to Mr Islam, electricity remained available elsewhere within the upazila complex. He said the incident appeared to have resulted from a communication gap. He later learnt that the official concerned had been attached to the Barishal office.
Md Kamruzzaman, the additional general manager of the Pirojpur Rural Electricity Association, provided a different perspective on how the outage occurred. He said the electricity authorities had received a complaint that there was no power at the UNO’s office.
Following the complaint, line workers went to inspect the office. The workers apparently believed that the meeting was being held at the UNO’s office and disconnected the relevant power line. As a result, the electricity supply at the actual meeting venue was also interrupted.
Mr Kamruzzaman said the local electricity office’s officer-in-charge was contacted immediately after the problem was identified. According to his account, the power supply remained disconnected for about two minutes, from 9.42am to 9.44am, before it was restored.
He said the workers had acted on the assumption that the UNO’s office was the location of the meeting, suggesting that the incident stemmed from confusion over the venue. The additional GM also said the attachment of Mr Hossain to the Barishal zonal office was believed to have followed the incident.
The episode has brought attention to the need for clear communication between local administration and electricity authorities when important public events depend on uninterrupted power. In this case, the outage was brief and limited to the programme venue, while electricity reportedly remained available in other areas of the upazila. An administrative decision was nevertheless taken the following day, with the Pirojpur Rural Electricity Association’s GM being moved to another office until further orders.
