For the first time in her life, 24-year-old Hanufa is going to celebrate an Eid festival in her own land and house.

“I’m so happy. This is going to be a different Eid-ul-Fitr for me,” said Hanufa, who got the house with land as a gift of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina under her government’s Ashrayan Project-2 at Khoksa Union of Sirajganj distict.

The young woman, who lost her eyesight when she was just one and half-year old due to typhoid said in an emotion-choked voice, “This is the first Eid I’ll celebrate in my own house, in my own land.” “There is electricity too.”

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She has been enlisted to get a house from the Project at its Thrid phase. Some 44 families will get house with land this time.

In the first phase some 100 families and in the second phase another 122 families got houses from the Ashrayan Project 2.

“I used to live on Wapda Dhal (embankment of water development board), in my life I never had a day that passed without having humiliation from others. My dream comes true, the Sheikh Hasina government makes my dream a reality,” she told a group of visiting reporters on Monday.

Hanufa lives on begging in Sirajganj city, but the house has made her to dream big.

“I want to take up poultry farming and get out of begging,” she proudly said about her future plan for living.

An excited Hanufa looks forward to receive the papers on the land-and-house from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina through video links on Tuesday. She will be one of the 44 recipients at Khoksa union.

Visiting the area it was seen that the families who got their houses in phases one and two are now well settled in their own abodes. They planted various types of trees and are growing vegetables around their houses. Some were seen running small grocery shops and tea stalls they have opened for livelihoods.

“We are very much satisfied with our present condition and will try our best to uplift our condition in the coming future,” they said thanking the prime minister for giving them the opportunity to live a better life.

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The prime minister will inaugurate the distribution of houses among 32,904 landless and homeless families across the country under the third phase of the Ashrayan-2 Project on Tuesday ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.

The houses and lands are being given to the poor families as part of the government’s aim to ensure that none will remain homeless in fulfillment of  the dream of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The PM will join the inauguration programme virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban at 11am. She will be connected virtually with Kaichail union of Nagarkanda under Faridpur district, Gourichonna union of Barguna Sadar under Barguna district, Khokshabari union of Sirajganj Sadar under Sirajganj district and Barkhain union of Anwara Upazila under Chattogram district.

PMO Senior Secretary Md. Tofazzel Hossain Miah on Sunday told reporters at PMO office that each unit has two rooms, a kitchen, a toilet and a veranda costing Tk 2,59,500 without tax and VAT.

Alongside the houses, the ownership documents of a two decimal land will be given to each family.

In the first phase the government has given 63,999 houses on January 23, 2021 while 53,330 houses on June 20, 2021.

In the third phase approval has been given to build 65,674 houses while 32,904 houses will be handed over on Tuesday.

The number of allocated single houses in 2021-22 fiscal is 1,83,003 worth Tk 3972.07 crore.

The number of specially designed houses for the island areas is 1242. Portable houses are given to homeless families staying in Char lands so that they can move their houses during soil erosion.

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The PMO senior secretary told that the recovered Khas lands from the illegal occupation across the country is 5512.04 acres with an estimated price of Tk 2967.09 crore.

The government purchased 168.32 acres of land for the Ashrayan project till now which cost Tk 115.33 crore.

The Ashrayan Project also rehabilitated 5,07,244 landless and homeless families from 1997 to December 2022.

Describing Ashrayan project as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s model for inclusive development, Md. Tofazzel said, “The living standard of a person improves radically (after getting a permanent house). It will help implement eight targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”