Rajshahi, Aug 19 (V7N) — A fire broke out among a tangle of cables attached to electricity poles in Rajshahi city on Monday morning, disrupting power supply to an area covered by five poles and causing considerable inconvenience to local residents.

The incident occurred in the Munnaper Mor area of Rajshahi city on August 17. Witnesses said sparks and flames suddenly erupted from the cables attached to the electricity poles before spreading from one pole to another. Several cables were burnt through and fell to the ground in pieces.

Local residents attempted to extinguish the fire, while Rajshahi Metropolitan Chhatra Dal Member Secretary Emdadul Haque Limon was also seen helping with efforts to put out the flames. He contacted the Fire Service and Civil Defence, whose personnel later arrived at the scene and brought the fire under control.

Although the exact cause of the fire has not yet been established, officials suspect that an electrical short circuit may have triggered the incident. The poles in the area carry a large number of cable television, telephone and internet lines, creating a dense tangle of wires.

According to the Talaimari Complaint Centre of the Northern Electricity Supply PLC (NESCO), power supply was disrupted to five poles south of Munnaper Mor, extending up to a transformer. NESCO workers were carrying out repair work at the site, and officials said it would take some time to restore electricity fully.

Farhad Hossain, Deputy Director of Rajshahi Sadar Fire Service and Civil Defence, said firefighters reached the scene and extinguished the blaze. He said the preliminary assessment indicated property damage worth around Tk 5 lakh, while goods worth approximately Tk 2 lakh were recovered.

The incident has once again raised concerns over the uncontrolled accumulation of cable television, telephone and internet wires on electricity poles across Rajshahi city. Limon urged the authorities to take steps to remove unnecessary and tangled cables from utility poles to reduce the risk of similar incidents.

When contacted about the issue, A.B.M. Asaduzzaman Sweet, Executive Engineer (Electrical) of Rajshahi City Corporation, advised contacting NESCO regarding the matter.

NESCO Executive Engineer Subrata Das confirmed that a fire had broken out among electrical cables at Munnaper Mor and said parts of the area remained without electricity. “Repair work is underway, and it will take some time,” he said.

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