PM's Eid gift delights 6,153 more homeless families in Rajshahi

News Desk    |    ১২:৫৬ পিএম, ২০২২-০৪-২৮

Shahanur Rahman, 48, a physically challenged person, has received a house at Kasiadanga area in Rajshahi city on Tuesday last expressing his deep gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her generosity.

  "I've no legs to walk, I'm disabled and we have no house to live in. But, now I've got a semi-concrete house as a gift from the Prime Minister (PM)," said Rahman, while talking to BSS here Wednesday. He along with his wife and children are living a happy life there.

  Parveen Sultana, 43, another distressed and helpless woman, said she used to live in another house earlier but her long-lasting miseries has now been removed after getting a house as PM's Eid gift. "This is a great achievement in my life as we will celebrate the forthcoming Eid festival in the new house," she said with a smiling face.

  In a choked voice, Suktara Begum, another beneficiary of Kasiadanga Ashrayan project, said she along with her two kids used to live in a thatched house. But now, they are passing secure lives along with enjoying sound sleep at night in the gift house, she added expressing her deep gratitude to the PM for her kindness.

  "Getting a permanent shelter of my own is the biggest gift in my life on the occasion of the Eid. Now I can celebrate this Eid in my own house," she said.

  They are among 6,153 more homeless families who received houses as a gift by the generosity of the PM in all eight districts in Rajshahi division on Tuesday last before the forthcoming Eid. They were given the houses in the third phases of Ashrayan-2 project as Eid gift to mark the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On March 7, 2020, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had announced that none will remain homeless in Bangladesh.

  Commissioner of Rajshahi division GSM Zafaruallah said a total of 14,291 newly constructed houses were handed over to homeless and landless families in two earlier phases last year as a gift from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the Mujib Year.

  He said at the third phase of Ashrayan-2, the government has raised the cost and brought changes in design to make the houses more sustainable and climate-resilient. Now the landless and homeless people will get better quality tin-shed semi-pucca houses on two decimals of land, he added. Main thrust of the initiative is to improve the standard of living, ensure basic education, health care and skill development on income generating activities of the beneficiary people. The floors and walls of the houses are brick-built as the roofs were made of corrugated sheet. The houses were made colorfully and eye-catching. The disaster resistant houses reveal the images of laudable and lasting development activities of the government.

  At the initiative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the government has provided them with the houses to alleviate their poverty through giving shelters and human resource development activities.  On behalf of Ashrayan Project-2 of the Prime Minister's Office, the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) has built the houses. Each of the semi-pucca houses with two bedrooms, one kitchen, one toilet, common space and veranda are built at a cost of Taka 2.59 lakh.

  Commissioner Zafarullah said the construction of the houses is a laudable step of the government. All the government's line departments, including agriculture, fisheries, livestock, youth development, cooperatives, women affairs and social development, have started expanding their activities to the Ashrayan villages to improve the living and livelihood conditions of the settlers.

  Abdul Mazid, Joint Registrar of the Department of Cooperative, said loans of around Taka 23.59 crore were disbursed among the members of 195 cooperative societies in 200 Ashrayan Projects in the division.