After an interval of 51 days, Bhanga Expressway regained its electricity connection on Thursday evening.
“We restored the electricity connection to all metres on Wednesday after paying a bill of Tk25 lakh out of Tk31 lakh,” said Md Saidur Rahman, sub-divisional engineer of Bhanga upazila on Thursday.
“Previously, due to an outstanding electricity bill of eight months, we had to disconnect the power on June 6,” he said.
“With the bill now paid, the larger lights are functioning. Some of the smaller lights may not be working due to technical issues. The responsibility for repairing these lights now lies with the respective owners.” he added.
Why were the bills not paid
The electricity connection of the Bhanga Expressway is under the jurisdiction of Munshiganj's Sreepur upazila Local Government Engineering Department.
According to sources at the Bhanga office of the West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd (WZPDCL), they had reportedly been pressurizing the Bhanga upazila's Roads and Highways Department to settle the outstanding amount.
They had sent seven written reminders to the department, but no initiative to pay the bill was taken.
Consequently, the power connection to two large meters along the expressway was disconnected on June 6.
However, the Roads and Highways Department claimed they never refused to pay the bill; rather, the delay in payment was due to the non-receipt of budgetary allocations.
Mohammed Shahidul Islam, the engineer of the Sreepur upazila's Local Government Engineering Department, said: “We were notified about the nine-month outstanding bill last May. We did not have funds at the time, hence we could not pay the bill.”
“We have paid the bills and the electricity connections have been restored,” he said hoping that the connection will not be interrupted in the future.
Bhanga Expressway comes to life
After its inauguration on May 25, 2022, the Bhanga Circle of the expressway became a popular tourist spot. It drew local residents as well as visitors from far and wide every day.
Several temporary food stalls had sprung up in the circle catering to these tourists.
However, the power cut led to a drop in the number of tourists, forcing some of the stall owners to shut down.
The electricity connection is now restored and the expressway is alive once again.
People and tourists have begun gathering in their favourite spots while makeshift food stalls have begun catering to their customers once again.
