Line cut during railway eviction drive disrupts power supply to parts of Dhaka airport

Parts of Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka have suffered disruption in power supply for hours after a line cut during an eviction drive by railway authorities.

The line was cut during Bangladesh Railway’s drive to evict illegal structures on Sunday morning, Sudhendu Bikash Goswami, chief engineer at the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh or CAAB, said.

Power connection remained intact in terminal 1 of the airport, he said about 2pm.

"DESCO executive director is working with his team to resume the connection. We are also contacting the PDB to resume the connection as soon as possible. We hope to get the power back on in half an hour," he said.

“We are working to resume the connection," said Noor Mohammad, director in Dhaka Electric Supply Company or DESCO.

Another official at the airport said the connection was back on around 2:30pm. 

The power cut hampered regular activities in the airport, according to people at the airport. Passengers suffered in the heat as the air-conditioning system stopped. There was a lack of water in the toilets too.

Different airlines issued the boarding passes manually as there was no electricity, their officials said.

The regular activity was not hampered in the airport due to power outage, claimed

CAAB spokesman Rezaul Karim claimed regular activities at the airport were not hampered due to the cut.

"Everything went according to normal routine. There was a glitch in a water pump in the airport which was mended and also we used alternative ways to supply water. We ensured power supply using generator," he said.