Bangladesh has 10,347 abandoned houses, 6,406 in Dhaka

There are 10,347 abandoned houses in the country, 6,406 of them in capital Dhaka, Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain has said in Parliament.

He gave the data in reply to a query by Comilla-8 MP Nurul Islam Milon during a question-answer session on Monday.

According to the minister, of the abandoned houses in Dhaka, 4,782 are up for sale, while 66 have been illegally occupied, and 999 are under litigation.

He said that only the families of martyred and injured freedom fighters were entitled to getting allotment of such houses.

To a question by M Abdul Latif, he said government officers and employees have 'illegally’ occupied 128 houses -- one under F, two under superior, 12 E, 56 D and 53 under reserved classes and four temporary houses.

They continue to live there because of court stay on vacation orders served on them, he added.

According to the minister, a circular had been issued to hire private lawyers to handle the cases.

The abandoned houses include 62 in Narayanganj, three in Gazipur, two in Narsinghdi, 36 in Rajbarhi, 228 in Rajshahi, seven in Natore, 16 in Chapainawabganj, 30 in Naogaon, 123 in Pabna, 13 in Sirajganj, 280 in Bogra, 1 in Joypurhat, 1,421 in Khulna, 1 in Bagerhat, 92 in Jessore, 507 in Kushita, 27 in Chuadanga, 353 in Chittagong, three in Comilla, one in Cox’s Bazar, four in Sylhet, 42 in Rangpur, 378 in Dinajpur, 223 in Nilphamari, 17 in Kurhigram, nine in Thakurgaon, 108 in Lalmonirhat and 21 in Gaibandha.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said in reply to a question by Kamal Ahmed Majumder that 1,624 educational institutions had been included in the government’s Monthly Pay Order list of 2010.