Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina distributed 18,566 houses to homeless and landless families across Bangladesh under the Ashrayan-2 project, just five days before Eid-ul-Azha. The distribution event was held via videoconference from her official residence, Ganabhaban, connecting to Kaliganj upazila of Lalmonirhat, Eidgaon upazila of Cox’s Bazar, and Char Fashion upazila of Bhola.

During the event, Hasina also declared 70 more upazilas, including all upazilas of 26 districts, free from landlessness and homelessness. This brings the total number of landless and homeless-free districts to 58 and upazilas to 464 across the country.

The Ashrayan-2 Project, a government flagship housing programme, aims to ensure housing for all. On Tuesday, Hasina distributed 1,282 houses in Lalmonirhat, 261 in Cox’s Bazar, and 1,234 in Bhola districts.

Previously, Hasina had 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. Each landless and homeless family is provided with a semi-pucca house on two decimals of land, with ownership granted jointly to both husband and wife. Each house includes two bedrooms, a kitchen, a toilet, and a veranda.

The initiative to rehabilitate homeless people was initially introduced by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1972. PM Hasina launched the Ashrayan project in 1997 to continue this mission. Since its inception, the Ashrayan project has rehabilitated 771,301 families, benefiting an estimated 3,856,505 individuals. Across all programmes, a total of 4,340,000 people from 867,904 families have been rehabilitated, including 2,910,265 people from 582,053 families under the Ashrayan Project.