ZCZC
BSS-14
SLUM-PEOPLE-DEVELOPMENT (with picture)
RCC implements slum and horijon development scheme
RAJSHAHI, Nov 8, 2018 (BSS) – Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) has been implementing a Taka 1.20 crore infrastructure development project for improving the living and livelihood condition of slum and harijon people.
Ashraful Haque, Chief Engineer of RCC, said the project is being implemented considering the vulnerability of the merginalized population. The project has provision of uplifting road, drain, footpath and other infrastructures.
In the preliminary stage, four horijon communities were brought under the project for development, Engineer Haque added.
Fazley Hossain Badsha, MP, visited some of the ongoing works here today to see for himself progress of those saying that the rural poor people with their recurrent disaster exposures are migrating into urban areas.
These new comers face a high employment crisis in city and with very poor-quality housing and other well-being further tapping them into a deeper urban poverty cycle.
RCC Chief Engineer Ashraful Haque said climate change is becoming a threat to the urban environment and development and livelihood as well the uncertainty. The urban poverty is highly linked with rural disaster risks.
The urbanisation situation, particularly the housing in the city is getting more acute with every passing year.
To address the problem, RCC from its Community Housing Development Fund (CHDF) has provided housing support for 201 families in 47 settlements in 25 wards out of total 30 in the metropolis. Around Tk 32.5 million have been distributed as housing loans from the fund.
CHDF has established a process for providing land tenure security and housing through a number of primary savings groups. CHDF is operating its financial activities. All those improved settlements previously known as slums are now well-designed community housing.
Noor Islam, Executive Engineer of RCC, said the beneficiary communities identify and give priorities to the environmental, social and economic challenges they face as well as the required actions to address them.
Meanwhile, around 53,000 people of 12,500 households living in different slum areas in the city are getting time-fitting tools of improving their living and livelihood condition through reducing multi-dimensional poverty and deprivation.
To this end, an empowering situation has been created so that the targeted people can be able to get access to adequate, safe and affordable housing, basic and inclusive services and upgrade slums.
Under the project, 17,500 youths, including around 13,000 females of 15-29 age group is getting empowerment and entrepreneurship privileges through need-based promotional activities.
Of them, 3,000 youths are being imparted either three or six-month need-based vocational and technical training and job placement for improving their living and livelihood condition.
Engineer Nur Islam said the project intends to promote socio-economic empowerment of the beneficiary people. Linkage has been developed between the youth entrepreneurs and various financial institutions including banks.
The project is extending support to the city digital centres for updating a database of the youths so that any interested person can avail the scopes of getting their profiles easily.
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