Bangladesh is far behind the policies of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to be self-reliant with the country's energy reserves, speakers said at a webinar yesterday.

They said Bangabandhu had an ambition for using national energy but the governments succeeding him did not show any interest in enhancing the capacity of state-owned institutions.

Bangladesh Energy Society (BES) organised the webinar titled "Sustainable Energy Security in Bangladesh: Vision of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman".

Engineer Khandaker Salek Sufi during this keynote presentation, said, "His [Bangabandhu] vision was to ensure power and energy to all Bangladeshis at affordable cost and to rely on national primary fuel in the long term."

"Bangabandhu took back five gas fields -- Titash, Bakhrabad, Habiganj, Rashidpur and Kailashtila -- from the international oil companies, which are our major gas suppliers till now. He invited six international oil companies to explore the sea, other foreign companies to find coal, mines etc within his only three-and-a-half-year tenure," Salek Sufi said.

He said it was Bangabandhu's vision to give a sustainable and equitable supply of electricity to all. "We need long-term energy sourcing, policy and actions to fulfil his visions," he added.

The prime minister's energy advisor Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury blamed the current energy crisis in the country on the "westerners."

"This is not a problem we created ourselves. The westerners have put us in this danger," he said.

Defending the current fuel price hike of about 46 percent on an average, he said Bangladesh is not the only country to do so. Even countries like the US have increased the price.

He also said new innovative solutions like solar-run fast charging stations for three-wheelers should be introduced to shift a load of electricity to bring rationality to the system.

Energy expert Prof M Tamim said the price of petroleum has already come down in the US to $3 from $5 per gallon. One US gallon is equivalent to about four litres.

He said the government should have decreased the fuel price much earlier when the price had decreased in the global market.

"There should be a specific policy that if the price decreases, the profit should be preserved as a special fund and that should be utilised for petroleum import when the price goes up," he said.

Former principal secretary to the PM and president of BES Abul Kalam Azad presided over the event conducted by Energy and Power magazine Editor Mollah Amzad Hossain.