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PM Sheikh Hasina Distributes 18,566 Houses to Homeless Families Ahead of Eid-ul-Azha
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has distributed 18,566 houses to homeless and landless families across the country under the Ashrayan-2 project, just five days before Eid-ul-Azha. The distribution ceremony took place on Tuesday, with the Prime Minister inaugurating the process via videoconference from her official residence, Ganabhaban. The event connected to Kaliganj upazila of Lalmonirhat, Eidgaon upazila of Cox’s Bazar, and Char Fashion upazila of Bhola.
During the ceremony, the Prime Minister also declared 70 additional upazilas, including all upazilas from 26 districts, free from landlessness and homelessness. This brings the total number of landless and homeless-free districts to 58 and the number of upazilas to 464 nationwide.
Under the government’s flagship housing initiative, the Ashrayan-2 Project aims to ensure housing for all. On this occasion, 1,282 houses were distributed in Lalmonirhat, 261 in Cox’s Bazar, and 1,234 in Bhola districts.
This initiative builds on previous distributions where the Prime Minister handed over 63,999 houses in the first phase, 53,330 in the second phase, 59,133 in the third phase, and 39,365 in the fourth phase of the Ashrayan-2 Project.
Each beneficiary family receives a semi-pucca house on two decimals of land, with ownership jointly granted to both husband and wife. Each house includes two bedrooms, a kitchen, a toilet, and a veranda.
The rehabilitation program for homeless people was originally introduced by the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in 1972. Prime Minister Hasina revived the effort with the Ashrayan project in 1997, aiming to provide homes and land ownership to the homeless and landless.
Since the project’s inception, a total of 771,301 families have been rehabilitated, benefiting approximately 3,856,505 individuals. Across all programs, 4,340,000 people from 867,904 families have received homes, including 2,910,265 people from 582,053 families under the Ashrayan Project.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today visited the massively damaged Setu Bhaban and Department of Disaster Management at Mohakhali here by the BNP-Jamaat-Shibir men during the nationwide mayhem centering the quota reform movement.
After entering the Setu Bhaban, she looked appalled seeing its different damaged sections as she had teary-eyed.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, among others, were present.
Several hundred of miscreants stormed into the Setu Bhaban on July 18 last and vandalized it badly, set it on fire, and looted government property from the bhaban.
They also vandalized many vehicles, motorbikes, ransacked different sheds and rooms and later set those on fire and beat many employees of the Setu Bhaban black and blue.
The prime minister later inspected the Department of Disaster Management at Mohakhali and saw different sections of the damaged establishment which was also came under terror attack on July 18.
High officials of the Setu Bhaban and Department of Disaster Management gave a brief description of the devastation of the two buildings.
The terror attacks on the government establishments was carried out across the country by the BNP-Jamaat clique cashing in on the quota reform movement.
Leaders of the quota reform movement have resolutely refused to negotiate with the government, insisting that their movement will persist until their demands are met.
In a Facebook post, Hasnat Abdullah, a coordinator of the movement, declared, “No discussion through stepping onto blood.”
Asif Mahmud, another prominent leader, echoed this sentiment, stating, “There can be no dialogue with bullets. I would prefer death over this betrayal.”
He further elaborated, “On one side, there are bullets. On the other, there is a call for dialogue. We can’t sit for dialogue while stepping onto the blood of our brothers.”
Earlier, leaders of the quota reform movement accused the government of escalating the law and order situation towards violence, asserting that their movement was peaceful until the government’s intervention.
Vowing to continue their struggle, Asif Mahmud stated, “We will continue our protests till we achieve our demands for reformation of the quota system, reopening of the halls and campuses, making university campuses terror-free, withdrawing political forces from the campuses, and punishing the killers and attackers.”
He added, “The people of the country have encircled those who tried to corner us. No conspiracy will be able to derail our movement.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged both local and international investors to invest in the extraction of marine resources from Bangladesh’s extensive sea areas.
“In order to fortify the blue economy through the diverse utilization of our marine resources, I call upon local and foreign investors to seize the opportunity to invest in Bangladesh. This will enable us to harness more of our marine resources,” she announced.
The Prime Minister made these remarks during the inauguration of the Bangladesh International Aquaculture and Seafood Show-2024 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Dhaka.
She emphasized the importance of adhering to proper standards in the collection, distribution, and processing of fish to boost exports, aiming to make fish the country’s second-largest source of foreign currency.
Sheikh Hasina pointed out that her government has made limited progress in harvesting fish and other sea resources from the deep sea due to a lack of interest from local investors.
“Therefore, we need foreign investment to advance in this area. This is the reality we must face,” she noted.
She also suggested that both local and foreign investors can collaborate in joint ventures or invest separately in this sector to achieve better results.
