Bangladesh
Bangladesh-Russia Hasina-Putin at the uranium handover ceremony in Rooppur
Own correspondent, Dhaka, 6 October 2023: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin joined virtually in the 'Fresh Nuclear Fuel' or Uranium handover ceremony of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
The two leaders attended the graduation ceremony of nuclear power plant built at Rooppur of Iswardi upazila of Pabna at 3:05 pm on Thursday.
Before this, Dr. Md. Shaukat Akbar, nuclear scientist and project director, introduced the project. Then videos related to nuclear fuel production and transfer of first batch of uranium to Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant were shown.
Secretary of Science and Technology Ministry Md. Ali Hossain will deliver welcome address on the occasion under the chairmanship of Science and Technology Minister Architect Yafes Osman. In addition, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Director General of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, gave their greetings.
Members of Parliament from Pabna-4 Constituency Alhaj Nuruzzaman Biswas, Member of Parliament for Sirajganj-2 Constituency Dr. Habibe Millat, Ishwardi Upazila Parishad Chairman Md. Naib Ali Biswas and Municipal Mayor Ishaq Ali Malitha were also present at the event.
The beginning of nuclear status in Bangladesh was in 1961. At that time, the Pakistan government took the initiative to build a nuclear power plant on the banks of the Padma river at Rooppur in Ishwardi, Pabna. Later it was closed due to various restrictions. After the independence of the country, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took the initiative to implement the project. Gradually, the work on the project began to progress, but it stalled again in the late 1970s.
This is how after many ups and downs the wait of six decades is finally coming to an end. Bangladesh is entering the era of uranium fuel through the transfer of 'fresh nuclear fuel' to Russia.
The Rooppur nuclear power plant construction project has repeatedly faced hurdles in various political eras of the country. Two decades after Bangabandhu's assassination, Awami League came to power in 1996 and again took the Nuclear Action Plan to implement the project. After an era of this, in 2008, the implementation of the new project started.
After that, the work of the project reached its final stage in about 15 years during the three consecutive terms of the current government. Those concerned think that the project will play an important role in meeting the electricity demand in the country by using nuclear energy.
