ZCZC
BSS-19
PM-ASHRAYAN PROJECT LEAD 2 LAST DHAKA
The prime minister said the government is making arrangements for rehabilitation of the landless and homeless people across the country.
“We’re constructing houses for them through the Ashrayan Project. Besides, anybody can build house by taking loan from the Housing Fund of Bangladesh Bank,” she said.
“We’re moving ahead by giving attention so that the people of our country live beautifully and get a scope for livelihood. Alongside, we’re making all arrangements for their education and healthcare services,” she added.
About the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Sheikh Hasina said the pace of the country’s development work was very good (before the outbreak of pandemic), but the disease has created obstructions in all areas.
In this connection, the prime minister urged the people to follow health codes strictly, including wearing masks.
“I would like to request all to abide by the health guidelines about the disease and use face masks when you talk to anybody, and move and go to markets and protect yourselves,” she said.
Pointing out massive development work being implemented in Cox’s Bazar, the prime minister said there was no scope for the local people of livelihood except shrimp and salt cultivation.
“Now, we’ve taken multifaceted programmes for the development of the district … two or three tourist zones will be built in one hand, while we’re making arrangements for livelihood of the people. Besides a special economic zone will be set up there,” she said.
Pointing out the world’s longest unbroken sandy sea beach in Cox’s Bazar, the premier said that the government has taken massive development programmes in the district so that the people of the country and world can come here and enjoy it.
“We want to develop the Cox’s Bazar Airport in this way so that tourists across the world could visit the district and wide-bodied aircraft can land at the airport,” she said.
Highlighting various facilities for the inhabitants of Khurushkul Asharayn Project, the premier said it will be built as a separate town.
Mentioning that green belt will be erected along the river beside the project to save it from cyclone and storms, she urged its habitants to keep neat and clean their houses and plant trees in the project area.
The prime minister mentioned about her and her sister’s six-year refugee life after the assassination of Bangabandhu in 1975, saying that they have known the torment of staying as refugees abroad.
“After return home, I visited across the country and witnessed many cyclones, storms and famines and I rushed to the affected people on behalf of my party,” she said.
Referring to the cyclone in Cox’s Bazar in 1997, Sheikh Hasina said she visited St Martin at that time and saw that the houses of the island people were damaged.
“At that time, I took a decision that I will construct houses for them. But there was no khas land in the island and an AL leader came forward proposing that he will give land in this regard,” she said.
She said Bangladesh Navy proposed at that time that they would construct houses for the cyclone victims in St Martin. “Accordingly, they built the houses and from that time our journey started and took the Ashrayan as a project and later gave responsibility of the project to the armed forces,” she said.
The prime minister thanked all concerned for implementing the Khurushkul Asharayn Project.
Later, the prime minister handed over keys to some inhabitants of the project on digital platform, while three beneficiaries of the scheme planted trees at the project site on behalf of the premier.
According to the project director, Khurushkul Ashrayan Prokalpa would have four zones — residential, tourism, dried fish processing zone or ‘shutki mahal’ — and a buffer precinct with greenery.
“The size of the structures and number of beneficiaries made the Khurushkul scheme as the country’s largest rehabilitation project” since the Ashrayan Prokalpa was launched in 1997 following a devastating cyclone in the southeastern coastlines, he said.
But the beneficiaries of the Khurushkul scheme were mostly victims of the deadly 1991 cyclone that turned the homeless forcing them to take refuge in the airport area in Cox’s Bazar town where they virtually languished in crammed shanties in the subsequent decades.
Under PMO supervision, army’s the 10 infantry division and Cox’s Bazar district and upazila administrations jointly constructed the 20 buildings in the first phase of the project, while the Khurushkul Asrayan Prokalpa was taken in 2014-15 fiscal on premier’s directives.
“Since then, a total of 3,19,140 families were rehabilitated, and of them 2,13,227 were rehabilitated from June 2010 to June 2020,” Hossain said.
BSS/SH/GA/1514 hrs