Just across the river from one of the country’s largest thermal power plants, hundreds of families on a remote char in Rampal upazila of Bagerhat are turning to solar energy to keep their homes lit amid an electricity crisis.
At Kaigardashkathi Char, around 800 fishing families live with unreliable power supply and dwindling fish stocks. Many households now rely on solar panels despite living close to the 1,320MW Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant, which supplies electricity to the national grid.
“Look across the river. You can see the thermal power plant. It supplies electricity to the whole country, but we are on this side. Why don’t we get electricity?” fisherman Al Amin Fakir said. “We have to depend on solar panels. At the same time, we can no longer find enough fish in the river to support our families,” he added.
Residents allege that hot-water discharge from the power plant has contributed to declining fish availability, threatening their traditional livelihoods.
Tania Begum, a housewife, said she used to catch enough fish from the river to support her family while her husband went to sea. “Before the power plant was built, I could catch enough fish here. Now I can spend the whole day casting a net and catch almost nothing,” she said.
Rabeya Begum, who lives behind the power plant, said she could not afford an electricity connection. “Last year, an NGO gave me a 50-watt solar panel. That is what I use for lighting at night,” she said.
Abdul Ahad, a line worker with Bagerhat Palli Bidyut Samity, said residential consumers had to pay a security deposit of Tk465 per kilowatt. Including line and meter charges, a household could spend Tk3,000-Tk3,500 to obtain a connection.
Gourambha Union Parishad administrator Md Habibur Rahman said prolonged waterlogging in settlements behind the plant made electricity connections difficult. “People are using solar panels with support from NGOs and through their own initiatives. Amid the electricity crisis, more people are now considering solar power,” he said.
Solar energy is also creating new income opportunities for women in Bagerhat.
Marina Juthi, executive director of IRV, said eight solar-powered incubators had been provided in Bagerhat Sadar and Rampal. The machines allow women to hatch chicken eggs, produce chicks and sell them from home.
Seven solar-powered water pumps have also been provided to women’s groups for dry-season irrigation, helping sustain agriculture and increase household incomes.
Marina said women should be treated not merely as beneficiaries but as leaders of renewable-energy initiatives, calling for government incentives and greater support.
However, Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Director Anwarul Azim rejected allegations that the plant releases hot water into the river. “No hot water from the plant is discharged into the river. It is stored in a reservoir and reused after cooling,” he said.
For residents of Kaigardashkathi, solar power is no longer simply an alternative. It has become an essential source of light—and an increasingly important tool for sustaining livelihoods in a community still struggling for reliable access to electricity.