RAJSHAHI, March 12, 2024 (BSS)- Ensuring access to fuel including renewable energies to the urban poor and other marginalised people can be the best way of fulfilling their existing fuel demands.

There are enormous prospects of promoting renewable energies through the best uses of existing natural resources in the region.

 Experts and development activists came up with the observation while addressing a dialogue titled "Present energy use by urban poor and challenges for adoption of Renewable Energy: Situation in Rajshahi City Corporation" here today.

Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK) organised the dialogue at Hotel Warisan on the occasion of sharing findings of a survey report on the issue.

Superintending Engineer of Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) Zinnurin Khan, Assistant Engineer of Northern Electricity Supply Company (NESCO) Limited Tanveer Alam and BARCIK Director Pavel Partha addressed the dialogue as resource persons with Project Director Muhammad Kamruzzaman in the chair.

BARCIK Research Assistant Doly Chakma gave an overview of the survey report containing the present situation of fuel use by the urban poor people while its Regional Director Shahidul Islam moderated the discussion.

 She said availability of energy from different sources is vital for the present life in meeting the challenge of the ever-increasing demand for energy.

Instead of depending on only the fossil fuel emphasis should be given on enriching the renewable energy sources to face the energy challenges.

 Doly Chakma underlined the need for wide-ranging use of energy efficient products to reduce the existing pressure on power demands.

She laid stress on using energy efficient electrical appliances to reduce electricity cost coupled with energy conservation which is essential for addressing the energy crises.

 All the government and non-government organisations concerned should come forward and patronise the sector of renewable energies for best uses of its existing potentialities.

In his remarks, Pavel Partha said the adverse impact of climate change caused by global warming has been posing a serious threat to the overall living and livelihood condition in the region, particularly in its vast Barind tract.

 Climate change has been acknowledged as the depletion of natural resources and as a major threat to the humanity in the region and the policy planners and others concerned to take immediate effective measures to address the adverse impacts.