March 29, 2024, 3:15 pm


Staff Correspondent

Published:
2021-01-24 00:24:02 BdST

Gifting homes to homeless is the biggest festival: PMPM opens world’s biggest housing scheme for homeless


Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has inaugurate the distribution of houses among 66,189 landless and homeless families under Ashrayan-2 Project, the world’s biggest ever scheme for providing shelter to homeless people.

The premier inaugurated the distribution ceremony virtually Saturday morning from her official Ganabhaban residence.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the distribution of 66,189 houses among landless and homeless families is a proud moment for the country as it gives people a better hope for the future.

“This is the biggest festival ever for the country today as we’re giving homes to the homeless and landless people…nothing can be a bigger festival in Bangladesh than this. I want your blessings so that we can build the country as the Golden Bengal as dreamt by the Father of the Nation,” she said.

The government has constructed 66,189 houses spending Tk 1,168 crore for the homeless and landless families, a move the world sees for the first time.

Each unit has two rooms, one kitchen, one toilet and a veranda, costing Tk 1.75 lakh.

Sheikh Hasina said today is the day of joy and happiness for her as she has been able to provide a house and an address to the most deprived section of people.

“For the people of the country my father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had struggled throughout his life.

I’m very happy that we’ve been able to give addresses to these people, especially at this winter time,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina also said that the government will provide another 100,000 houses among the homeless people across the country.

“The process will start very soon. We do hope there’ll be no homeless people in the country during the Mujib Barsho and Golden Jubilee of Independence,” she said.

Thanking all those involved in this massive task, the Prime Minister said she does not know whether such a huge job has been completed so quickly in any corner of the world.

“Even in our country, no government could build so many houses at this short time…this is not a simple task, we had been able to finish this huge job because of coordinated efforts from all by this we could accomplish the impossible task,” she said.

Hasina said the government is working for all sections of people so that they can lead a decent life.

The Prime Minister vowed afresh to provide houses among the homeless people across the country on the occasion of Mujib Barsho and Golden Jubilee of the Independence of the country.

“No one will remain shelter-less in the Mujib Barsho and Golden Jubilee of Independence. We’ll do whatever possible for us, maybe we have our limitations of resources and that’s why we’re building the houses at the limited scale. I’ll provide at least one address for every person.”

Hasina said she believes that when these people will live in their houses, the departed souls of her father and mother who sacrificed their entire lives for the people of the country, will be in peace.

“Millions of martyrs who have made the supreme sacrifice for the country will get peace. To change the fate of the people of the country was the only aim of the Father of the Nation,” she said.

Hasina said there were so many programmes to celebrate the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, but the government could not observe those due to the coronavirus.

“Coronavirus has brought in a curse in one sense, it’s a blessing in disguise as we have been able to put our focus on this particular task (providing shelter to the homeless people),” she said.

The Prime Minister urged all who got the new houses to plant trees beside their homes.

She also urged the affluent section of society to supplement the government efforts in providing shelter to the homeless.

The PMO prepared a list of 885,622 families in 2020, of which 293,361 are landless and homeless, while 592,261 have just 1-10 decimal land parcels but no housing facility.

The Ashrayan project rehabilitated some 320,058 landless and homeless families between 1997 and December 2020.

On the other hand, the Ashran-2 project (July 2010-June 2022) aims to rehabilitate 250,000 more landless, homeless and displaced families, at a cost Tk 4,840.28 crore. It has so far rehabilitated 192,277 poor families across the country.

A total of 48,500 landless and homeless families have been rehabilitated in barracks while 143,777 having own land (1-10 decimals but unable to construct houses) in semi-barracks, corrugated iron-sheet barracks and specially designed houses.

The government is arranging accommodation for the homeless and also the landless families under Ashrayan-2 project, a housing project run by the PMO. The government has enlisted 293,361 homeless and also landless families as well as 592,261 homeless families throughout the country.

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