By Dr Aynal Haque

RAJSHAHI, June 7, 2024 (BSS)- Rajshahi division will be freed from
landlessness and homelessness with declaration of freeing two rest upazilas
on Monday next.
 
Earlier, 65 upazilas in all eight districts in the division were free from
landlessness and homeless in four consecutive phases of the Mujib Barsha
Ashrayan Project-2.

"We will declare Sherpur upazila in Bogura and Chowhali upazila in Sirajganj
districts under the fifth phase of the project on June 10," said Dr Dewan
Muhammad Humayun Kabir, commissioner of Rajshahi division.

Talking to BSS here on Thursday, he said there were 31,930 homeless and
landless families in 'KA' class in the division. Already, 30,729 of those
were rehabilitated during the last four consecutive phases.
 
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.
 
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. Construction of
the houses is a laudable step of the government.
 
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.

Utmost priority was given to widow, divorcee, bagger, persons with
disability, ethnic minority and third gender side by side with other
distressed people in terms of scrutinizing beneficiaries for their proper
rehabilitation.
 
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.
 
Dr Humayun Kabir said 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.
 
One of the beneficiaries, Furu Begum, 53, wife of Saiful Islam at Jhina
village under Bagha upazila in the district, has got a permanent address
after getting the house and has been living in it for the last couple of
years amid pleasant.

"The PM's housing gift has enhanced our social dignity side by side with
boosting the level of confidence as a whole," she added.
 
"There was no thought even in the dream of getting a brick-built house in the
remote area," said Renuara Begum, 47, another beneficiary, adding that they
had to live in a thatched house on other land for a long time in the past.
 
Before getting the houses at Khanpur Nich Polashi Ashrayan Project they were
living here and there as rootless ones since they lost their houses and other
belongings by the river erosion.
 
Aleka Begum, 51, of Helalpur village, said she used to live in a thatched
house before getting the new one. She had to suffer a lot due to the lack of
a house. But, the worst situation has changed now. She along with her husband
and two daughters are passing happy days in the house.
 
"I never thought that I would be an owner of a brick-built house," she said
with a smiling face, adding that the house gave her three-member family a new
life expressing deep gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her
benevolent initiative.
 
Maleka Begum, 53, a widow of Benggari village, is living in the new house at
Khanpur Nish Polassy Ashrayan Project with her two sons.
 
"We are very happy to receive such a gift from the Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina. We are grateful to her," she said while expressing her gratitude to
the government.
 
Like them, all the 408 landless and homeless families have become happy after
getting homes for the first time in different villages under Bagha upazila in
the district.
 
Thanks to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the benevolent works as her
government gave the houses with special design of earthquake resilient and
portable in four phases of Ashrayan-2 project to mark the Mujib Barsha very
recently.

There are vacant places for cultivating vegetables and other crops in the
project area. The rehabilitated families are getting scopes of improving
their living and livelihood condition through homestead gardening and rearing
cattle, goat and poultry birds.
 
Zahid Hassan Hridoy, president of Helalpur Ashrayan Committee, said Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina has given them basic amenities, particularly houses,
electricity and water. There are 41 families in their ashrayan and they are
living together through cooperating with each other, he added.