PM Hasina hands over 39,365 houses to homeless people in 4th phase

The prime minister also declares seven more districts and 159 more upazilas as homeless- and landless-free areas

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has handed over 39,365 more houses to homeless people ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, reports state-run news agency BSS.

As part of the government's aim to ensure housing for all landless people, the prime minister handed over the houses in the fourth phase of the Ashrayan-2 project through a virtual event from her official residence Ganabhaban on Wednesday.

Earlier, 63,999 houses were distributed to the landless and homeless people in the first phase, 53,330 in the second phase and 59,133 in the third phase.

With the distribution of 39,365 more houses, its total number stood at 2,15,827 under the Ashrayan-2 project.

The prime minister also declared seven more districts and 159 more upazilas free from homeless and landless people, taking the total number of homeless- and landless-free districts to nine and upazilas to 211, according to the report.

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman introduced the rehabilitation programme for homeless people in 1972. Under the Ashrayan project, 771,301 families have been rehabilitated since 1997.