A total of 230 landless families of small ethnic communities in the Bandarban district will get environment-friendly Machang Ghar—houses built on wooden or bamboo platforms—from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.   According to Bandarban district administration, houses are being built under the Ashrayan project initiated by the Prime Minister’s Office for a total of 4,133 families. The government has allocated Tk 70 crore for building a total of 3,560 houses, and each Machang Ghar is being built at a cost of Tk 2.5 lakh.   As of now, a total of 2,968 semi pucca houses have been handed over to their recipients and construction of another 592 houses, including 230 Machang Ghars, are currently underway. Read more: 4 lakh coastal people took refuge at Ashrayan homes during Sitrang: PMO Visiting the construction works in Jamchari union under Bandarban Sadar upazila on Monday (October 31, 2022), Chattogram’s Divisional Commissioner Md Ashraf Uddin expressed satisfaction at the progress of the project. “Instead of building semi pucca houses as in other areas of the country, we’re building Machang Ghars for the homeless ethnic people keeping in line with their culture and traditions,” said Ashraf. Yasmin Parvin Tibriji, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Bandarban, said that the Machang Ghars are being built based on people’s demands. Read more: “Husband and wife have equal ownership rights to Ashrayan homes for homeless” “After consulting the local public representatives, we sent a proposal to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) regarding the construction of Machang Ghars. A team from the PMO approved our proposal after visiting the area,” Yasmin said. Yasmin added that the district administration received the allocation under the fourth phase of the Ashrayan project.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said she wants to make sure that everyone in Bangladesh gets their own home, land and address as her government continues working for inclusive development. “My aim is to make sure that not a single person remains homeless in Bangladesh,” she told the Bangla service of Voice of America in an interview aired on Tuesday, sharing how the idea of Ashrayan project came to her — giving equal ownership rights to the husband and the wife of a landless family. Read: Hasina and Friends: Interactive gaming platform to educate children The Ashrayan project — home for the homeless — is seen as a “Sheikh Hasina Model” for inclusive development. Responding to a question, PM Hasina said she has made good on her commitment and 10 lakh families have received homes. “If we count, around 35 lakh people got permanent shelters.” She said they are not just giving homes to the homeless, people are also provided with cash support with necessary training to get involved in income generating work and opportunities to sell their products in the market.  The prime minister remembered her countrywide visits in 1981 when she helped people get homes in some places. But she saw that those homes were sold by them after a few days. Then she thought of some ways so that the helpless people do not need to sell off their homes. She also shared her experience of visiting St. Martin's Island after a cyclone in 1997 where she found 70 families without homes. Read:PM in Washington: Media in Bangladesh free to criticize govt Awami League leaders came forward with their land when she wanted to build homes for them with the support of Bangladesh Navy. “I designed the houses. That’s how it began.” The prime minister said she made sure that ownership of the home goes to both the husband and the wife. If any problem arises between them, or if the husband abandons the wife, the ownership will go to her, she said.

The government’s groundbreaking Ashrayan Project has put a smile on yet another face - this time it is to Shefali Das, a homemaker from Rampal in Bagerhat. Now in her 60s, Shefali, for the first time, can proudly flaunt the keys to a house of her own - the ultimate earthly possession for any homemaker - after she was selected as one of the recipients of the low-cost homes at the Gauramva Ashrayan Project in Rampal. Describing her woes, the old woman said she was born in her landless father's house over 60 years ago. She also married a landless person. Even after 40 years of conjugal life, Shefali could never have a permanent address. Now, her long-cherished dream has come true under the second phase of the Ashrayan-3 project. Read: Ecnec clears a Tk 1092-cr project to widen Cox’s Bazar Marine Drive Both Shefali and her husband are naturally very pleased to be getting the well-equipped home as a gift from the prime minister. They plan to live there with their three daughters. The Ashrayan Project in Rampal has been like a godsend for the many landless and homeless people in the district. The stories of Beauty Sarkar, Taslima Begum, Sabera Begum, Phuljan Begum, Afroza Begum, Nirod Das, Ibrahim Hawladar, and Yunus Talukder - just some of the other names on the list of recipients in Rampal. None of them can stop singing his praises  

The government is going to announce Panchagarh and Magura as the landless-homeless-free districts this week as all the landless families are being rehabilitated with modern abodes and lands there. A total of 52 upazilas of different districts, including all the eight upazilas of Panchagarh and Magura, will also be announced as having no landless and homeless families as part of the government’s commitment made on the occasion of the Mujib Year to ensure shelter for all the homeless in the country. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will make this announcement on Thursday next during the distribution of 26,229 houses among the landless families across the country, said her principal secretary Ahmad Kaikaus at a press briefing at the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday. Also read: Ashrayan-2: About 33, 000 homeless families get homes as PM's Eid gift  Kaikaus said a total of 19,780 landless families were rehabilitated in the 52 upazilas. “The number of landless-homeless families is zero in the entire Panchagarh and Magura. It is a huge achievement,” he said. In this context, PMO senior secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah said if anyone is found as landless in the two districts and 52 upazilas, the person will immediately be given a house with land. The local administration has already been given an order in this regard, he said. The 52 upazilas are Nawabganj in Dhaka; Madaripur Sadar; Damudya in Shariatpur; Katiadi in Kishoreganj; Gopalpur in Tangail; Ghior and Saturia in Manikganj; Kalukhali in Rajbari; Nagarkanda in Faridpur; Madan in Netrokona; Bhaluka, Nandail, Phulpur and Fulbaria in Mymensingh; Bakshiganj in Jamalpur; Patiya, Karnaphuli, Satkania and Lohagara in Chattogram; Raipur and Ramganj in Laxmipur; Feni Sadar, Chhagalnaiya, Fulgazi and Parshuram in Feni; Gobindaganj in Gaibandha; Atwari, Panchagarh Sadar, Debiganj, Tetulia and Boda in Panchagarh; Nawabganj in Dinajpur; Baliadangi in Thakurgaon; Dimla in Nilphamari; Raninagar in Naogaon; Panchbibi in Joypurhat; Mohonpur, Charghat and Bagha in Rajshahi; Nandigram and Dupchanchia in Bogura; Bagatipara in Natore; Ishwardi in Pabna; Shibganj in Chapainawabganj; Harinakundu in Jhenaidah; Tala in Satkhira; Magura Sadar, Sreepur, Mohammadpur and Shalikha in Magura; Kathalia in Jhalakathi and Dashmina in Patuakhali. The principal secretary said some 67,800 houses are being provided among landless and homeless families in the third phase of Ashrayan-2, a project of the PMO. Of these, 32,904 houses were handed over on April 26 last, 26,229 ones will be handed over on July 21 next and the construction of 8,667 other houses is still underway, he added. Earlier, 117,329 semi-pucca houses along with two decimal lands were distributed among the homeless people in the country in the first two phases on January 23, 2021 and June 20, 2021 on the occasion of the Mujib Year marking the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Also read: PM’s Ashrayan Project: Homeless Hanufa, thousands more to get own homes on Tuesday Some Tk 4,029 crore were allocated for Ashrayan houses in 2021-2022 fiscal year. The government recovered some 5,512 acres of Khas lands to construct houses for homeless people throughout the country and approximate market value of these lands is Tk 2,967 crore. Besides, the government procured 191.79 acres of lands at cost of Tk 134 crore for construction of houses under the Ashrayan-2 project. And 8,462 landless families have so far been rehabilitated on the procured lands.  Kaikaus said the government will continue implementing the Ashraya-2 project despite the global economic crisis as the house scheme is contributing to make the rural economy vibrant amid the crisis. He said there are only 22,000 floating people across the country according to the recent population census. PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim, Project Director of Ashrayan-2 Abu Saleh Mohammad Ferdous Khan and PMO Director General (Admin) Mohd. Ahsan Kibria Siddiqui were present at the briefing. 

“If we get a permanent shelter, we will send our two sons to school,” said Rongila, a Bede woman. The Bede, a gypsy-like ethnic community is among the most underprivileged and marginalised groups in the country. Rongila is a mother of two sons – 5-year old Akash and 3-year old Robiul.  Her husband, Alauddin, is a monkey and snake charmer. The four-member Bede family now lives in a ‘Jhupri Ghor’ (a very tiny traditional makeshift abode of Water Gypsy) at Badedihi village under Barabazar Union in Kaliganj upazila of Jhenaidah district as do other Bede families. The Bede woman has recently shared her dream with this correspondent as her family is going to get a permanent house with a two-decimal land as a gift from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Read: BGB's intervention halts Ashrayan project work in Panchagarh Like her family, a total of 59 Bede families – 31 families from Badedihi village and 28 families from Kashipur village under Kaliganj municipality-- are going to get the houses in the Ashrayan’s largest Bede housing site adjacent to Majdia Baor at Jagannathpur village under Barabazar Union in Kaliganj. The Bede families are now  dreaming for better life as the house construction works  continue on the 2-acre housing site under Ashrayan-2 project of the Prime Minister’s Office.   “We’ve no dignity and no hope for life,” said Rongila, adding that her family leads a poor life with nominal incomes earned by her and her husband.

The government will provide houses and two-decimal land to 9,445 families affected by river erosion, Ashrayan-style in the country, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Enamur Rahman disclosed Tuesday. "There was massive river erosion this year, though the country didn't witness severe flooding. A total of 9,445 families were affected by the river erosion this year. We sent a list of the victims to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. They all will get houses with two-decimal lands," he said at a press briefing. Read: Hasina inaugurates home distribution under Ashrayan-2 Project

Unidentified youths broke two pillars of a house being built under the government’s Ashrayan project in Madhukhali upazila of Faridpur on Sunday night telling the beneficiary that these were not properly built.   The incident happened in Kalinagar area's Ashrayan project in ward-2 of Megmachi union in the upazila, officials said. Also read: Ashrayan Project: Govt thoroughly scrutinizing “irregularities” The perpetrators smashed two pillars of one of the five under construction houses of the project around 8:30pm. One of the beneficiaries of the house, Akhi Mandal said, some four or five youths came and said they were sent from Faridpur to dismantle the house as those were not properly built. “They broke the pillars saying they will rebuild them again”, she said. On Monday morning Rakhi informed the incident to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md. Mostafa Monwar. Also read: No laxity in costruction of Ashrayan houses to be tolerated: Project Director The UNO said, in ward no 2 five houses were being built under the government’s Ashrayan Project 1 and 2, including Rakhi’s house. He said, higher authorities were informed about the incident and a complaint will be filed with the police station in this regard. Faridpur district’s Deputy Commissioner Atul Sarkar said, some evil quarters might have done this to tarnish government’s image. Legal action will be taken in this regard after proper investigation, he said. Officer-in-Charge of Madhukhali police station, Rathindranath Tarafdar said, “We have visited the spot and are investigating the matter”.

Abu Salek, in his early 40s, had a very painful life for the last 26 years as he had no home of his own. He now thinks life could be better, much better! “At one point of time things were horrible for me... I spent 26 years without a home,” Salek told the UNB correspondent in Brahmanbaria. Salek is no longer a homeless man as he, along with many others, got a semi-pucca two-decimal house gifted by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in January last of the Mujib Year. Read ‘This is biggest festival ever’: Hasina about home distribution among homeless

Some 50,000 more homeless and landless families are going to get homes in April next as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s gifts in the ‘Mujib Year’.