PM’s power pledge for Patgram coming true

People living in Patgram enclave under Lalmonirhat district will be able to enjoy the taste of electricity within the next six months as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given her nod to power connections there, a longstanding demand of the enclave people.
The people in 27 enclaves including Dahogram, Kharkharia, Gitorkuti and Banshkata under three upazilas  in the district are cut off from the mainland by channels since independence of the then Pakistan. Rural Electrification Board (REB) of Bangladesh could not supply electricity to the enclave areas as the Indian authorities concerned did not allow Bangladesh authorities to take electricity cable connections to enclave areas from the mainland through Indian Tin Bigha Corridor, but now they gave their green signal following the Land Boundary Agreement between the two countries.
"We'll be able to connect around 200 thousand people with grid line, as we're going to start  negotiation on a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Power Development Board (PDB) in the  next two weeks. Eventually, we'll be able to give  about 56,000 power connections ," Dr Mostaq Ahmed, Managing Director of Green Housing and Energy Ltd (GHEL), told the Daily Observer on Thursday.
Recently GHEL has signed an agreement with Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) to set up a solar grid power station with 5 p MW capacity to electrify 27 enclaves in Lalmonirhat and Dahogram areas, which was a commitment of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the enclave people.
This company will set up a solar grid power system at Phulbaria at a cost of about Tk 54 crore, 50 per cent of which will be provided as grant and 30 per cent as bank loan by IDCOL and the rest 20 per cent is the company's equity.
"An Independent Power Producer (IPP) agreement will be followed. PDB will buy the power produced by the company, then the REB to buy the electricity and sale it to the consumer," said Siddique Zobayer, Member of Sustainable Renewable Energy Development Authority  or SREDA.
The SREDA member also said many enclave people have already started using solar power in their houses. "We've  11  solar grid panels," he added.
"Following this project our company is set to establish two separate solar grid projects in char (island) areas under Patuakhali district, which will have 100 KHW generation capacity each," said Dr Mostaq, a solar power entrepreneur.
He said demand for electricity in off-grid areas is very high.
"We have set up solar grid at Kutubdia and are doing business very successfully. Now we've submitted an expansion plan to the IDCOL to meet the growing demand of the people," he added.
He further said that REB distributed some solar torches and lantern among the enclave people a few mo0nths back.
SREDA Member Siddique Zobayer said, "Use of renewable energy all over the country could change the lot of poor people to a great extent. Now the government needs to formulate a policy to ensure the security of investment in this sector."