At least 25 villages in Matlab Upazila of Chandpur have been devastated by a sudden storm, leaving around 3 lakh people without electricity for nearly 23 hours. Power authorities said it may take 3 to 4 days to fully restore electricity in the affected areas.
As of Thursday (March 26) evening, many areas remain without power. The outage began after a powerful storm struck around 8:00 PM on Wednesday, causing widespread damage.
Local sources said strong winds affected 20 to 25 villages, with trees and branches falling on electric poles at around 60 locations, snapping main power lines. At least 25 power poles were uprooted, leading to outages in over 200 villages.
The upazila has approximately 90,000 residential, 20,000 commercial, and 400 industrial consumers. Important institutions, including a government health complex, at least 14 diagnostic centers, upazila administration offices, a police station, and two river police outposts, have remained without electricity for more than 20 hours.
Officials from the Chandpur Palli Bidyut Samity (Matlab North Zone) said repair work is ongoing with the help of local workers.
“We are working day and night to restore electricity. Some lines may be operational by Thursday night, but full restoration may take 3 to 4 days.”
On the ground, areas such as Eklashpur, Kalakanda, Rarikanthi, Panchani, Kalipur, Chhataki, Mohanpur, Sujatpur, Gajra, and Shatnol were seen with fallen poles and broken power lines caused by uprooted trees.
Residents said prolonged outages have led to food spoilage in refrigerators, shortages of safe drinking water, and serious difficulties for children, the elderly, and patients.
Diagnostic centers warned that chemicals stored in refrigerators may be damaged if power is not restored soon. A health official said vaccines for 1,200 to 1,500 children are at risk due to the lack of generators.
Authorities continue repair efforts, but the situation remains critical as large parts of the upazila are still without electricity.
