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Eleven rooftops in a day: surveying Natore’s government buildings for solar

At the invitation of the Member of Parliament for Natore-2, our team surveyed eleven government buildings in a day, talked solar with the Deputy Commissioner, and went on to the jail, the police lines and Patul Bil.

By: eBiddut Team
Published: 27 October 2026
Read: 2 min

The eBiddut team standing together with local hosts in front of a government office in Natore — The eBiddut team with our hosts in Natore.

On 26 October, the eBiddut team travelled to Natore at the invitation of the Member of Parliament for Natore-2. The brief was simple and ambitious at once: go up on the roofs of the district’s government buildings and work out which of them could carry solar, and how much.

By sunset, we had been up on eleven of them.

Aerial view of a flat concrete rooftop in Natore with the eBiddut team in high-visibility vests measuring it — From the drone: the team taping out a rooftop. The column bars mark where a future floor could rise.

What a rooftop survey looks like

A solar proposal is only as good as the measurements under it. On every roof we taped out the usable area, marked parapets, water tanks and stair heads, and noted anything that would throw a shadow across the day.

Team members in vests measuring a rooftop while a colleague takes notes — Tape, notebook and a lot of walking: every measurement goes into the system layout.

Aerial view of the team measuring a rooftop beside a painted temple spire — A neighbouring temple spire rises above the parapet: a shading question to answer row by row.

Natore’s roofs gave us plenty to think about. Several carry column bars left for a future floor, which changes how the mounting structure has to be built. On one, a temple spire next door rises above the parapet: lovely to look at, and a shading question we had to answer panel by panel.

Seeing it from above

Two eBiddut team members on a rooftop, one holding the drone controller — The drone crew, before take-off.

Our survey drone flew over every site. Aerial images let us lay panel rows on the real roof instead of a sketch, check orientation, and catch obstructions that are easy to miss when you are standing on the slab.

Back at the office, these images become the first draft of each building’s system layout.

A conversation at the DC office

Between rooftops, we visited the Deputy Commissioner’s office and sat down with the Deputy Commissioner to talk about solar for the district’s public buildings: how they use power today, where solar fits, and how the work can move forward.

Government buildings are a natural home for solar. Most of their electricity is used during office hours, exactly when panels produce the most, and their wide flat roofs usually sit empty. A public office running on sunlight is also an example for everyone who walks through its gate.

27 October: six more buildings and Patul Bil

Two eBiddut team members in vests taking a short break between site visits — A short pause between buildings.

On 27 October, we went back on the road to six more buildings, including the jail building and the police lines. From there, we left the town for Patul Bil in rural Natore.

In the villages, we talked with families about the Solar Green Fund, under which banks can finance up to 80% of a solar system.
Along Patul Bil’s 10-kilometre submersible road, we studied the case for solar street lights, so the route stays lit after dark.

Thank you, Natore

Our thanks to the Member of Parliament for Natore-2 for the invitation, and to the officials and staff across Natore who opened their doors, and their rooftops, to us.