Solar power improves livelihood of char people

RANGPUR, Apr 30 (BSS): By virtue of solar power, the lifestyle of around 0.2 million people, living in some 200 remote and hardly reachable riverine char villages of all five districts in greater Rangpur region, is changing fast.
Government officials and NGOs executives said the char people are getting uninterrupted power supply using over 28,000 solar power units set up in char villages of Rangpur, Nilphamari, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Gaibandha districts in the region.
Different NGOs and the government through the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) are distributing solar panels to the people living in remote areas.
Divisional Commissioner Kazi Hasan Ahmed said the government through Members of the Parliament (MPs), Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and upazila councils are distributing solar panels under Test Relief and other programmes.
"As a Divisional Commissioner, I also get Tk 8.0 million allocation annually in two phases and allocate the amount in favour of different institutions and organisations as per rule and they purchase solar panels from the IDCOL," he said.
Similarly, MPs, district relief and rehabilitation offices, upazila and union councils also distribute their allocations under Test Relief Programmes to the people and institutions to procure solar panels as per rules, Mr Hasan added.
Senior Coordinator of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said over 50 per cent of the people living in remote and hardly reachable riverine char areas have been brought under solar power coverage in greater Rangpur region.