Power back in Habiganj after fire at plant triggers 15-hour blackout

Electricity supply is restored to parts of the town and some Upazilas following overnight repairs at the Shahjibazar power plant

Power has been restored in Habiganj after a fire at the Shahjibazar power plant plunged the entire district into darkness for 15 hours.

Electricity supply resumed around 11am on Friday in the town and several Upazilas, according to Manzur Morshed, executive engineer of the Power Development Board (PDB) office in Habiganj.

On Thursday evening, a fire broke out at the Shahjibazar power plant, resulting in a blackout and a severe water crisis.

People across different parts of the town were seen bathing in ponds on Friday. Many residents also used pond water for cooking and household chores.

Due to the outage, easy bike drivers were unable to charge their vehicles, resulting in very few three-wheelers or autorickshaws on the roads throughout the morning.

Rakib Uddin Bhuiyan, station officer at Madhabpur Fire Service, said it had started raining around 7pm on Thursday. Authorities suspect a short circuit caused the fire at the power plant, burning two transformers.

PDB official Manzur said, “After the fire broke out, a Fire Service unit from Shayestaganj, along with local staff, took control of the situation after half an hour.”

"After working overnight on emergency repairs, we managed to restore power to parts of the town and some Upazilas."

He added that it would take “some more time” to fully restore the electricity supply, though several Upazilas already have their power back.