Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday urged the affluent section of the society to stand beside the destitute people as her government has been working to arrange houses for all homeless people of the country.

“Not a single person will remain landless and homeless in Bangladesh. That is our goal,” she told the representatives of the Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) during a meeting at her office here.

In the meeting 36 banks donated a total of Tk 113.25 crore for the construction of houses for homeless people under Ashrayan-2 project, said PM’s Deputy Press Secretary KM Shakhawat Moon while briefing reporters.

The premier said most of the country's homeless and landless people have already been given houses and the remaining people will also get abodes. “Nothing can be greater than the smile and satisfaction of the people who got Ashrayan houses,” she added.

She said many people who got Ashrayan houses on two-decimal lands are also growing vegetables, rearing chickens, opening cottage industry and shops there. “They’re finding a way to make a (decent) living. The life of the people is changing for the better,” she said.

Hasina asked the well-off section to come forward in the construction of houses for landless and homeless people. “Not only the government, but we all together will take the country forward on the path of development,” she said.

The PM thanked the BAB and bankers for providing donations on different occasions saying, “I don't even need to tell you (for providing assistance). You all come spontaneously and help during any disaster and crisis.”

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Focusing on the outcome of her government’s initiative to open banks in the private sector, she said three lakh graduates were employed due to the establishment of private banks. “It's a big matter,” she added.

PM Hasina said the country is marching toward prosperity overcoming all natural and manmade disasters.

Referring to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war on the global economy, she said, “We’re not in big trouble, unlike other countries. We are overcoming it.”

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PM’s Principal Secretary Tofazzel Hossain Miah conducted the event, while BAB chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder also spoke on the occasion.