Make sure no one is homeless: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked deputy commissioners (DC) to provide homes to the homeless in their districts.

She said this in her address at the inauguration of a three-day conference of deputy commissioners at the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday.

Hasina wanted an expansion of the Asrayan (sheltering) project. “We should not lack Khas lands. Moreover, there are many Char lands. If needed, make arrangement for accommodation by purchasing land.”

She said shelter was one of the fundamental rights of a citizen and told the DCs to make sure that no one was homeless.

The prime minister gave them 24 directives that included the generation employment at the local level, stern measures to prevent drug addiction and improvement of education.

The Awami League-led government took up the Asrayan project after it came back to power in 1996 to rehabilitate homeless and landless people.

Hasina said her government planned to provide accommodation in rural areas that were as good as urban facilities.

She said she wanted the rural people to enjoy comforts comparable to those in the capital.

The prime minister said the government had taken the initiative to build flats at union levels for low-income people.

Hasina asked the DCs to popularise solar energy in remote areas that were without power.

Madaripur DC GSM Zafrullah sought kits to check chemical contamination in fruits.

Hasina said an anti-formalin drive was on and stressed the need to stamp out the application of formalin to fruits and vegetables in districts and Upazilas.

She said the government would soon pass a law stating the harmful effects of formalin and specifying the chemical’s threshold level in food.

She thanked the DCs for their cooperation in holding the Jan 5 national elections amid hurdles.

Hasina asked them to discharge their duties ‘above all fears and pressures’.

“We need continuity for development. We need your views in taking forward the projects taken up during the past tenure and new projects.”

The prime minister asked all to work together to turn Bangladesh into a developed nation by 2041.