Kalapara (Patuakhali) Correspondent
A terrible fire broke out at the electricity transmission station of the zonal office of the Rural Electricity Association in Kalapara, Patuakhali. Around 3:30 pm on Monday, a voltage regulator at the station exploded with a loud noise and a fire spread. At this time, the electricity office officials and employees ran in all directions in panic. Power supply to Kalapara, Kuakata and neighboring Taltoli upazilas was cut off instantly. Upon receiving the information, two units of Kalapara Fire Service Station rushed to the spot and tried for about half an hour to bring the fire under control. Meanwhile, electricity consumers in Kalapara are facing extreme hardship due to the power outage. All the mills and factories in the upazila are closed. Even though the hilsa season is underway, the ice factories in the upazila are closed due to the power outage. If the power connection is not restored within the next 24 hours, the fish traders here will be in the extreme category with fish worth crores of taka, the traders said. Joy Prakash Nandi, DGM of Kalapara Rural Electricity Zonal Office, said that electricity is transmitted from this power transmission station to the tourist center Kuakata, fishing port Alipur, Mahipur and neighboring Taltoli upazilas. At least 67,000 customers are currently in the dark due to this sudden fire. He could not confirm when the power connection would be restored. He also said that an investigation is underway into how the fire broke out, which caused at least half a crore taka in damage. However, there were no casualties. Kalapara Fire Service Station Officer Shahadat Hossain said that their two units brought the fire under control in half an hour. The fire is currently under control. An investigation is underway to determine how the fire started.