DHAKA: The demand of electricity consumption is increasing with the ever increasing onrush of people every moment in the capital. The citizens of the capital are accustomed with dazzling neon lights of the roads and streets. It does not require a less amount of electricity to make the capital city free from darkness.
The government had taken up the project of setting up solar lights with the aim to meet up the deficit of electricity as well as power savings. But the project could not show up its demonstration of dazzling due to the failure of the pilot project and also not releasing of the fund by the government.
The solar lamps now could not be seen except other sourced light.
In 2013 the government took up the project of setting up solar lights to make the roads of residential and commercial areas to ensure uninterrupted power supply for lighting.
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) at an estimated cost of TK 22 crore took up the plan of lighting roads of North South road of old Dhaka, from Fisheries Directorate to Shahbagh, from Malibagh to Jatrabari Janapath road and Dhalpur road by setting up Solar panel. Meanwhile in pilot project of the solar light setting TK 2 crore has already been spent.
According to the sources of DSCC, there was a plan to fix one thousand LED power supply solar panel with the idea to set up in the whole project area. These LED give more light with less power. In this project it has the capacity to energize 90 watt light.
At the initial stage, the pilot project did set up solar light on the road running from the residence of the Chief Justice to Kamalapur railway station via Naya Paltan. But as that project could not be successful, the new funding became uncertain.
Admitting the failure of the solar lighting project, the Superintendent Engineer and project director of DSCC, Jafar Ahmed, told banglanews that to set up street solar lamps from the house of Chief Justice to Naya Paltan was our pilot project.
He said as there was no regular maintenance so it did not function properly. Next as there was no fund release process the project could not be implemented.
He further told that in the current month we will apply to Bangladesh Municipal Development Fund (BMDF) for funding this project. When there will be funding we will start the work.
But viewing a different opinion the Chief Engineer of DSCC Engineer Nazrul Islam told banglanews that this is such a project that the solar system should be there where there is no regular electricity. No good result will be available in the busy capital area. Because we have experienced that the solar lamps do not give brighter light in the capital area. Other sourced electricity gives much brighter light than the solar energized lights. It remains almost dark.
Nazrul Islam expressed his doubts whether the solar project will be implemented or not.
The BMDF funded UNDP money generally implements development projects in the city corporations and municipal areas. Their fund releasing contains one of the conditions is to repay the fund. As the fund exhausted in the pilot project still to be repaid, so they do not feel to release new fund.
The donor agency will allocate 80 percent fund of the total project cost. This money has to be repaid within 25 years. The rest 20 percent will be borne by City Corporation.
However, the execution of this project depends on DSCC. Whenever there will be a guarantee for repayment then the new fund will be available.
If this project once is implemented about 50 Megawatt of power will be saved. But the uncertainty that loomed on fund releasing, the project has become uncertain.
BDST: 1236 HRS, FEB 08, 2014
