A tale of rapid socio-economic change

Md Moslem Uddin, a resident of Rooppur village in Pabna's Ishwardi upazila, lost his job at the Pakshey Paper Mill about one decade ago and has seen considerable financial hardship ever since.

Recently though, Uddin took matters into his own hands by establishing a motorcycle garage on a 10-decimal plot leased from another local.

He now earns roughly Tk 40,000 to Tk 50,000 per month from the venture but this success was only made possible by the ongoing construction of the nearby Rooppur nuclear power plant.

"Several thousand people from across the region are working on the Rooppur project and many of them have to travel long distances by motorcycles to get there," Uddin said.

PHOTO: Ahmed Humayun Kabir Topu

"After seeing that these people need a safe place to park their vehicles during work hours, I decided to set up a garage on previously unused land which can house more than 100 motorcycles daily," he added.

Similarly, many other residents of the village have set up garages in front of their homes, earning them huge amounts from unused land thanks to the present demand for public parking facilities in the area.

Locals are also taking advantage of the increased demand for accommodation near the project site, going as far as building new residential complexes for this sole purpose.

Besides, a number of shops and markets have sprung up across Rooppur, Shahpur, Pakshey and other adjoining areas of Ishwardi upazila in order to fulfil the needs of project workers.

Monjurul Haque, a resident of the Shahpur Notunhaat area, was working for a mobile network provider soon after completing his academic studies a few years ago.

But when construction of the Rooppur nuclear power plant began on October 20, 2013, he decided to learn Russian and later joined a Russian company employed by the project.

Haque then opted to combine the two experiences and set up a mobile retail outlet in front of his house, where most Russian nationals involved with the power plant frequently visit due to his fluency in their language.

Haque shared his skills on how to handle Russian clients with other locals as well since thousands of Russian citizens live in the area.

"They often come to local markets and mingle with the people. So, locals are trying to learn their language and traditions in a bid to cater to their needs," he said.

During a recent visit to the region, this correspondent found remarkable changes with all kinds of shops, hotels, tailors and other businesses bearing signboards in either Russian or English language.

"Considering the fact that Russian tastes differ from our own, we even imported salmon and other high quality fish from different countries as per the demand," said Md Abdullah Maruf, a worker of Glorious Fishes.

The number of rest and recreational activities available has gone up as well as many new resorts, clubs, and foreign food restaurants have popped up in Rooppur, Shahpur and other adjoining areas centring the power plant project.

As such, people who last visited the region some eight to 10 years ago would now hardly recognise the area due to its rapid change.

Featuring brand new high-rise buildings, resorts, shopping malls, and signboards in foreign languages, the once backwater locality has turned into a city with a foreign flame.

"Locals get job opportunities in the project site while most of the others start various economic activities centring the mega project," said Md Amirul Islam, a primary schoolteacher of Rooppur village.

"Now, the local people are learning the Russian language and culture thanks to the project, bringing rapid socio-economic change in a wide range of areas in the last few years," he added.

Rapid Economic Change with Huge Transactions

There were eight to 10 branches of state-owned banks in Ishwardi upazila but now there are over 30 to 35 branches of both public and private banks that are highly active thanks to the Rooppur project, according to various bankers.

There are many local and foreign firms working in the Rooppur nuclear power plant project that need a huge amount of transactions every day.

Other than that, the businesses that have emerged alongside the project are also earning huge sums of money.

And with the transaction rate rising rapidly, local banks have expanded their operations in a bid to handle the huge demand for such services, said Sultan Hafiz A Mamun, manager of the Joynagar branch of Agrani Bank.

The government began construction of the Rooppur nuclear power plant, the country's first nuclear power plant, with financial and technical support from Russia in 2013.

Since then, project construction has rapidly progressed while also bringing rapid socio-economic change to the area, according to project officials.

Around 26,000 to 28,000 people are working in the Rooppur nuclear power plant project, of which 4,600 to 5,000 are Russian.

"So, the project brings huge new job opportunities while there are many economic activities that are running around the project area due to the huge flow of people," said KBM Ruhul Kuddus, site in-charge of the project.