Energy & Power

Report

Coal Now the Best Option
EP Desk

Bangladesh should go for extraction of coal ensuring highest degree of environmental safety as well as paying attention to the interest of the local people who are affected in the mining process.

Speakers came up with the observations at the inaugural session of the Training Workshop for members of the North-Bengal Mineral Resources Reporters Forum organized by Weekly Economic Times at Press Institute of Bangladesh recently. The two-day workshop was participated by 51 newsman of the northern region.

The speakers said that coal is the best option now for generation of electricity not only for the northern region but also for the country as gas is likely to scarce in the days ahead.

Inaugurating the workshop, Prof M Tamim, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Energy Ministry, said the country needs to secure the sources of its energy as well as diversify those right now because it will be of no use sitting on heaps of money if we are unable to find energy in the future.

Ataus Samad, Advisory Editor, Amar Desh and Member Coal Policy Advisory Committee, Kamrul Islam Siddique, Chairman, World Water Forum, Engr. Mainul Ahsan, former Director Petrobangla, Kr. Kamruzzaman, Assistant Professor of Geology of Rajshahi University, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Editor, The Bangladesh Observer and former President of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Shaukat Mahmood, Editor, Weekly Economic Times and President, National Press Club and Mollah Amzad Hossain, Editor, Energy & Power and Chairman of Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh, among others, addressed the inaugural session of the workshop focusing on the development of the northern region.

The two day training workshop ended with a call for extracting coal immediately for the highest benefit of the nation.

In the concluding session, the participants opined freely at the quires & questions event, and the guests responded making clear everything. The working journalists focused on the problems faced by the local people and also the reluctance of the authority to pay heed to the grievances. They fervently appealed to the concerned authority to come forward and solve the problems including the rehabilitation of the evicted villagers in and around the mining areas.

Petrobangla Chairman Jalal Ahmad attended the concluding session as chief guest. He said coal could play a pivotal role in energy sector to meet the ever-increasing demand of the nation. To meet this demand, extraction of coal is a must as coal can be used as a fuel to generate power in the country. He assured the mineral reporters to extend his cooperation in arranging training sessions so that they can play their due role in creating awareness among the local people side by side the bridging up the relations between government and the people.

Citing the sweet memories achieved in his official duties performed in northern areas, the Chairman said he assumes a lot of natural and mineral resources are available in that area. If any extraction done there, he would feel proud. Seeing a host of reporters hailed form those areas, he said that reporting on mineral resources in an important task now.

News Today Editor Reaz Uddin Ahamed said the initiative for the mineral reporters’ professional development taken by the Economic Times is really praise worthy, this type of initiative should be taken more, he hoped.

PeoplTel Managing Director Major TIM Nurunnabi (Retd) said his organization would arrange a package program in which professional training and ways of earning should be included. He would take initiatives in this regard soon.

BFUJ Secretary General Ruhul Amin Gazi said the journalists working in Muffassils should get their due shares inscribed in the latest Wage Board. He assured to ensure their just demands.

In his presidential speech, Editor of the weekly Economic Times & the President of National Press Club, Shaukat Mahmood said nation can’t be enriched if coal could not be extracted in just time. Debate on this point should be stopped for the sake of national interest. He called upon the mineral resources reporters to utilize their knowledge and experiences acquired from the two-day training workshop in their professional performances.

North Bengal Mineral Resources Reporters Forum President Morshed Manik thanked Shaukat Mahmood for arranging a nicer event like two-day training workshop on mineral reporting.

Later the Chief guest distributed the certificates among the reporters on mineral resources who participated in the workshop.

Innovative Program Launched in India to Finance Clean Micro Energy Technologies

EP Desk

Green Microfinance and MicroEnergy International (ME) of Germany announced the launch of Energizing India at the recent 2008 AAAS Annual Meeting. The microfinance institution, Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF), has contracted with Energizing India in its endeavor to provide micro energy products for its 232,310 clients (micro-businesses and families) in four Provinces in south India.

Energizing India will provide clean energy products to ESAF's clients and will establish working relationships among ESAF and various renewable energy providers.

GMf will assist in structuring micro loans for local enterprises and for low-income consumers. Such micro-financing will encourage the development of affordable and efficient renewable energy systems, not only for the quarter-million ESAF clients, but throughout a network of microfinance institutions in India.

An estimated total of 75 million Indian families are not on the national grid, including over two-thirds of all rural families. Rural families buy kerosene for lighting and gather and/or purchase firewood for cooking. For example, off-grid Indian families consumed over 180 million tons of wood in 2001.

Energizing India is part of a global network, Energizing Microfinance, formed by Green Microfinance and MicroEnergy in 2007. It is led by microfinance specialists and energy engineers, who are experts on micro energy systems, which include solar, micro-hydro, micro-wind, and village-scale biofuel systems, which uses biomass not produced on productive forests, grassland or cropland.

"By providing loans for environmentally sustainable products to their low income clients, microfinance institutions can substantially contribute to greener communities, and to increased family business revenue. Most importantly, by working with organizations such as ESAF, we are directly nurturing and growing millions of green micro-businesses," Elizabeth Israel, co-Founder and President of Green Microfinance said.