RAJSHAHI, April 3, 2020 (BSS) – Around 4,000 underprivileged families were given a total of Taka 60 lakh aimed at lessening their financial hardship amid the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Each of the beneficiary families got Taka 1,500 provided by Brac’s Urban Development Programme (UDP) today as an effort to tackle the present troubled situation.
Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, accompanied by its Panel Mayor Shariful Islam Babu and UDP Regional Coordinator Farjana Parveen, opened the distribution programme on the City Bhaban premises through handing over the supports to 20 of the beneficiaries.
“We have set a target of bringing around one lakh hand-to-mouth families under the food assistance coverage in phases in the city to cope with the present crisis,” said Mayor Liton, while speaking on the occasion.
Each of the beneficiary families are being given a packet containing five kilograms of rice, one kilogram of pulse, two kilograms of potato and soap at their respective doorsteps at present.
He said the city corporation raised a stock of 100 tonnes of rice and 20 tonnes of pulse from the city’s affluent persons for distribution at the initial stage.
Earlier , 20,000 poor families were given foodstuff with a packet containing10 kilograms of rice and 500 grams of pulses each to cope with the present troubled situation.
The corporation also distributed 60 tonnes of rice among 200 destitute people in each of the 30 wards after receiving those from the government as a part of the government’s instant humanitarian support to mitigate the economic hardship.
Apart from this, various need-based programmes to generate awareness among the public in general to combat coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has been continuing in the city for the last couple of weeks.
Illustrating the objectives of the UDP and its activities and implementation strategy, Farjana Parveen said around 70,000 people from 18,400 households living in different slum areas in the city are getting privileges of improving their living and livelihood conditions by availing different facilities.
The project is intended to ensure safe drinking water, sanitation, housing and education facilities to the slum dwellers for improving their living and livelihood conditions, she added.