<div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said the government is working to ensure civic amenities for all the rural people throughout the country.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We’ll bring every village under the coverage of civic amenities and the people of every village will enjoy the civic amenities,”&nbsp; she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The premier said this while handing over 18,566 more houses&nbsp; among the homeless and landless families across the country under Ashrayan-2 project on Tuesday, five days before the Eid-ul Azha.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She opened the distribution of the houses alongwith ownership documents through a videoconference from her official residence Ganabhaban, connecting to Kaliganj upazila of Lalmonirhat, Eidgaon upazila of Cox’s Bazar, and Char Fashion upazila of Bhola.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On behalf of Sheikh Hasina, the public representatives and field-administration handed over the houses constructed under the government’s flagship housing programme, Ashrayan-2 Project, aiming to ensure housing for all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides, the PM declared 70 more upazilas, including all upazilas of 26 districts, free from landlessness and homelessness people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With this declaration, the total number of landless and homeless-free districts has reached 58 and the number of landless and homeless-free Upazilas has gone up to 464 across the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">About the Ashrayan-2 project beneficiaries, the prime minister said the houses have brought a great change in their lives. “Confidence and self-dignity have returned among them. It is most important to develop this country,” she said.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Talking about the recent cyclone Remal-hit people,&nbsp; Hasina said thousands of people were affected by the cyclone. The government has already prepared area-wise lists of the houses which were completely or partially damaged, she said.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She said the government will construct new homes in case of completely damaged houses, and will extend support to reconstruct the partially damaged houses.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We’re beside the people affected by this natural disaster. We’ve been doing what they need initially. I would like to say that you don’t need to worry. Inshallah, I will make arrangements so that everyone can construct your houses,” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">About agricultural production, the PM said her government has increased food production and has taken steps for food and nutrition security in the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She asked all not to even an inch of land uncultivated and practise austerity in the use of electricity and water.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Tuesday, the prime minister distributed 1,282 houses in Lalmonirhat, 261 in Cox’s Bazar, and 1,234 in Bhola districts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The prime minister exchanged views with beneficiaries through the videoconference.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PM’s Principal Secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah conducted the function.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier, the prime minister distributed 63,999 houses in the first phase, 53,330 in the second phase, 59,133 in the third phase, and 39,365 in the fourth phase of the Ashrayan-2 Project across the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Under the project, each landless and homeless family is provided with a semi-pucca house on two decimals of land, with ownership jointly granted to both husband and wife. Each house consists of two bedrooms, a kitchen, a toilet, and a veranda.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rehabilitation programme for homeless people was initially introduced by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1972.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Following that PM Hasina initiated the Ashrayan project in 1997 to provide ownership of houses and lands to homeless and landless people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since its inception, the Ashrayan project has rehabilitated a total of 771,301 families, benefiting an estimated 3,856,505 individuals. Across all programmes, 4,340,000 people from 867,904 families have been rehabilitated, including 2,910,265 people from 582,053 families under the Ashrayan Project.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>