Human chain for developing Kalapara as a "clean energy city"

Human chain was staged demanding the development of Kalapara as a clean city on Wednesday 29 July 2026

Patuakhali: A human chain was held today (July 29, 2026) at the Kalapara Municipality premises demanding development of Kalapara as a "clean energy city" by installing solar power in all the establishments and public service infrastructure under it.

Various environmental activists, civil society representatives, students and local residents participated in the human chain organized by the environmental organization Prantjan Trust, Forum on Ecology and Development (FED) Barisal, Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) and Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED). At the end of the human chain, a memorandum was presented to the Kalapara Municipal Administrator. Municipal Executive Officer Kabya Lal Chakraborty accepted the memorandum on behalf of the municipal administrator.

The human chain was presided over by Amal Mukherjee, convener of the Environment and Development Forum-Patuakhali. Other participants included Member Secretary Md. Nazrul Islam; Member Mejbahuddin Mannu; Nurul Haque; Nazmus Shakib; SSDP Executive Director Md. Habibur Rahman and Prantjon Field Coordinator Saifullah Mahmud.

The speakers at the human chain said that investment in renewable energy by local government institutions is the need of the hour to combat the adverse effects of climate change and ensure sustainable urban development. If solar power systems are installed in bus stands, passenger shelters, parks, lake walkways, roofs and other public service infrastructure under Kalapara Municipality, on the one hand, the production of clean electricity will increase, and on the other hand, the municipality will be able to create a new source of income by selling surplus electricity to the national grid.

The speakers also said that investing in renewable energy is not an expense; rather, it is a profitable, environmentally friendly and sustainable investment for the future. If local government institutions take such initiatives, it will accelerate the country's clean energy transformation and at the same time create new jobs and economic opportunities at the local level. - Gofran Palash