Energy Generation and Local Development in Bangladesh: An Exploration of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna District

Abstract

In recent years, energy crisis is acute in Bangladesh. Although the energy sector of the country puts on top a varying range of products such as electricity, petroleum products, natural gas, coal biomass, solar and other renewable sources, policy makers has been mostly concerned with electricity as the most commonly used form of energy. Therefore, energy plant is a common development programme in Bangladesh. Particular attention has been given on nuclear power plants as these are specially equipped to produce electricity at low cost. This article explores the case of the Rooppur nuclear power plant (RNPP), which the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has initiated with the Russian aid, at the Padma River bank near Ishwardi of Pabna district. It critically examines the effects of the power plant on local people and their environment, and tries to understand whether such form of development benefits all homogenously. From the perspective of ‘anthropology of development’, the article argues that development as a modernization project, despite making an overall progress, may not always bring desirable consequences for local cultures.

Social Science Review, Vol. 41(2), December 2024, pp. 83-98