FBD Desk:

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said that her government would manage shelters for all marking the Mujib Borsho to enable them to lead a standard life.

“We have set a target in the Mujib Borsho that not a single person will remain without address or home. I will somehow manage an address for everyone,’’ she said while distributing homes to 66,189 families alongside rehabilitating 3,715 others in the barracks under the Ashrayan-2 Project.

Joining the program virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban in the capital, the Prime Minister asked all concerned particularly the local administrations to hand over the ownerships of the houses to the beneficiaries.

She said that as many as 320,000 families had earlier been given homes while work on building one lakh more houses for the landless and homeless will start soon.

The Prime Minister said she was very happy today as she managed to give such a large number of houses to landless and homeless people on a day of winter.

Describing the ceremony marking distributing a large number of homes as the largest festival, she said, “Today, it is the largest festival. There is no such big festival like giving homes to landless and homeless people on such a large scale.”

The Prime Minister however thanked all concerned including the local administrations and public representatives to manage building such a huge number of houses maintaining due standard in a short period.

Sheikh Hasina said that the souls of her father (Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) and her mother and lakhs of martyrs who made supreme sacrifice for the country’s Liberation War will rest in peace as such a huge number of people have got their own homes.

The Prime Minister urged all to pray for her as she could build the country as a “Sonar Bangladesh” as dreamt by the Father of the Nation, saying, “My only target is to ensure a beautiful and improved life to everyone and Banglalee can move across the globe with dignity with keeping their heads high.”

Referring to giving homes to the backward people in the societies such as dalits, horijons, transgender, tea workers and others, she said that her government has been tirelessly working to ensure improved live for cross-section of the people in the society.

She said that they have also rehabilitated the climate refugees with giving homes at Khuruskul in Cox’s Bazar while 100 more buildings are being built for them.

The Prime Minister criticized the BNP-Jamaat government for stopping the housing projects taken by the Awami League government in 1997 to rehabilitate the landless and homeless people.

Ziaur Rahman had also stopped the rehabilitation of the people under the “Guchchho Gram” project taken by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman immediately after his (Bangabandhu’s) assassination along with most of his family members, she said.

She said Ziaur Rahman had created an elite section in the society aimed at hanging on to power in the name of giving democracy and deprived the commoners, adding that corruption took an institutional shape and the electoral system was damaged totally in the Zia’s regime.

Terming the five-year tenure of Khaleda Zia’s government and the caretaker government from 2001 to 2008 as a black chapter for Bangladesh, she said the terrorism and militancy were raised at that time.

Forming the government in 2009 after voted to power, the Premier said they had again initiated the Ashrayan Project to rehabilitate the landless and homeless people as her only target was to bring smiles on the faces of the countrymen as Bangabandhu wanted to change the lot the people with giving them improved lives for which he struggled for 24 years.

She said Bangabandhu had a five-year plan to make Bangladesh a developed country, adding, “The people of Bangladesh could have got improved lives if Bangabandhu could have implemented it.”

The Prime Minister later exchanged views with the beneficiaries, local Awami League leaders and public representatives who got connected to the programme from Kathaltala Village of Atalia Union under Dumuria Upazila in Khulna district, Nizbari Village of Kamarpukur Union under Syedpur Upazila in Nilphamari, Kartali village of Gazipur Union under Chunarughat Upazila in Habiganj, and Salla Village of Baliadanga Union under Sadar Upazila in Chapainawabganj district.

A video documentary was screened on the government’s effort to rehabilitate the landless and homeless people.PMO Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah moderated the function from the Ganabhaban end.

While exchanging greetings, Sheikh Hasina urged all the countrymen to find out the homeless and landless people in their respective localities as the government has a target to provide homes to everyone marking the Mujib Borsho and the Golden Jubilee of the country’s independence.

The government has built 66,189 houses at a cost of Taka 1,168 crore for homeless people on the occasion of the Mujib Borsho. Each of the houses was built on two decimals of land having two rooms, one corridor and one latrine alongside connection of electricity and water.

The inmates of the houses will be given necessary training to ensure their earnings and after completion of the training they will get a loan from the government.

Besides, the Ashrayan Project under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) rehabilitated 3,715 families by constructing 743 barracks under 44 project villages in 36 upazilas in 21 districts during the Mujib Year.

The Ashrayan Project has prepared a list of 885,622 families in 2020, including 293,361 landless and homeless families, and 592,261 families having 1-10 decimal land but no housing facility.(Source: BSS)