Small scale hydro power plants to be installed in Bandarban

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Bandarban hill district council is planning to install small-scale hydro power plants at its most remote upazila, Thanchi, which is still out of the power net, reports BSS.
The district council has already developed a model plant and is planning to install two such prototype small-scale hydro power plants with the capacity to generate two- megawatt electricity at Thanchi, Council Chairman Kashoyhla told the news agency.
The model was designed and installed by local expert Aungthui Khoye Marma of Monjoypara at his own initiative, he added.
He said that on area basis, small-scale hydro power plants would be very effective for this hill district as there are many hard-to-reach places including Thanchi where connecting to the national grid would be very expensive and difficult.
"We have plans to demonstrate our model hydro power plant in front of other experts and donor agencies next month," he said.
He also said, "We have already spoken with UNDP to fund the project."
According to their initial estimate, the total cost of each plant would be around Tk 1 million, and each plant can supply electricity to at least 3000 people, he added.
"We have already selected the sites in Thanchi Upazila for installing the plants," he said adding, "the plants won't harm the environment, they would only use natural flow of water."
The hydro power plants in Thanchi are expected to ease power crisis in the district to a great extent as currently the district is getting only three megawatt power daily against its demand of six to seven megawatt.
"We also have plans to install such kind of hydro power plants across the district and bring all its 0.37 million (3.7 lakh) indigenous people and Bengalis inhabitants under power supply," he said.
He said that a delegation of the council led by him visited Nepal last month to attend a workshop on hydropower.
"During our visit we saw the technology and realised that hydro electricity can be produced in the district where we can find source of water flow and pouches of stagnated water," he added.
Executive Engineer of Bandarban Electricity Distribution Department Jaynal Abedin said, presently, electricity subscribers in the district number 15,000, which cover about 70,000 people.
He said, as per the government plan the local MP and chairman of the Chittagong hill tracts development board Bir Bahadur has taken a two-year programme to expand the area of electricity supply.
He said, under the initiative, an additional 50,000 rural people would come under electricity supply within the next two years.