Several hundred residents of Azampur in Uttara of the capital attacked the local office of Dhaka Electric Supply Company (Desco) yesterday afternoon demanding uninterrupted power supply. The mob also vandalised vehicles belonging to Desco.

Police managed to bring the situation under control around 3:00pm. Later, the demonstrators submitted a memorandum to the Desco authorities.

Meanwhile, extra police force was deployed at different power stations in the city after the violent demonstrations by city residents.

Police sources said they arrested about 30 people from different places in the city on Wednesday and Thursday for their alleged involvement with the violence. Police also filed cases against about 22,100 unidentified residents of Pallabi, Mirpur, Jatrabari, Lalbagh, Kotwali and Keraniganj areas in the city on Wednesday and Thursday for their alleged involvement with the violence that had engulfed the city for two days.

Pallabi police filed a case against about 4,000 persons, Mirpur police station filed a case against about 2,500 to 3,000 persons, Jatrabari police filed two separate cases against about 4,000 to 5,000 persons, Kotwali police filed two separate cases against about 900 to 1,100 persons, Keraniganj police filed a case against about 6,000 to 7,000 persons, and Lalbagh police filed a case against about 2,000 persons.

The cases were filed in connection with attacks on state properties, assaults on police, arson, disruption of vehicular traffic and interrupting government activities.

Anwarul Kabir Talukder, who was removed from the post of state minister for power yesterday, said before losing his job that the attacks on power stations were pre-planned.

He assured that supply of electricity will improve across the country within the next 15 days.

Earlier, while talking to the Daily Star, some demonstrators said they came out of their homes onto the streets protesting repeated load shedding even in the month of Ramadan. They alleged that they were not getting electricity even during iftars and sehris.

CHITTAGONG
Residents of Chandanaish upazila in Chittagong attacked and set ablaze a local office of Rural Electrification Board (REB) after ransacking it yesterday.

Sources said enraged by repeated power outages since Thursday evening several hundred villagers brought out a protest march from a local mosque after the juma prayer and attacked the local complain centre of REB in Satgatia Pukurpar area under the upazila.

They damaged the furniture in the office and at one stage set fire to it prompting the REB staff to flee from the office.

NARAYANGANJ
Our Narayanganj correspondent reported that several hundred people of Bholail under Fatullah police station demonstrated demanding uninterrupted supply of electricity yesterday.

They barricaded the Dhaka-Munshiganj highway by setting fire to tyres and bamboos in protest at the corruption by the officials of Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority (Desa).

At about 10:30am a mob proceeding towards the local Desa office was intercepted by police before it could lay a siege to the office.

The mob then barricaded the highway disrupting traffic for an hour and a half.

The demonstrators later removed the barricade at about 12:30pm after Shahidul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Fatullah police station assured that the complaints of the demonstrators would be forwarded to the department concerned.

Shafiq, a resident of Bholail alleged that some officials of Desa demanded a bribe of Tk 25,000 from the residents of the area to restore power supply after an electric transformer had been out of operation for 15 days.

A Desa technician, Swapan was given Tk 20,000 after collecting Tk 200 to 300 from every household of the area. However, the transformer broke down again after it had been repaired four to five days ago, Shafik added.

The local Desa authority did not take any initiative to solve the problem even after repeated complaints, Shafiq alleged.

A Desa official admitted that a transformer was out of order but denied the allegation of corruption.

He said if any outsider is using the name of Desa to fleece local residents, it will be investigated.

CHANDPUR
Agitated residents of Moddho Sreeramdi area of Chandpur town's Puran Bazar area brought out a procession around 7:00pm yesterday demanding uninterrupted power supply, reported our Chandpur correspondent.

The mob attacked the office of the local power supply authority just after Ifter, prompting the officials on duty to flee from the office.

Power Development Board (PDB) staff and the local residents said due to an out of order transformer near Osmania Madrasa, the entire area has been without power till filing of the report since Wednesday night.

Later, the officials concerned managed to calm the angry residents after assuring them that power supply will resume today.