BSS, Rajshahi :
Some 232 slum dwellers are living in brick-built house driving out their long-lasting living life in thatched or mud-house as they got community housing in the city.
They had just moved to their new houses, which they constructed with support from Community Housing Development Fund (CHDF) and recently phase-out Urban Partnerships for Poverty Reduction Project.
Earlier, each of the beneficiaries having land but not house were given loan worth Taka two lakh for the house building purposes.
Mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) AHM Khairuzzaman Liton revealed this while launching the CHDF’s loan distribution activities under ‘Livelihoods Improvement of Urban Poor Communities Project (LIUPC) Project’ at Char Satbaria area in the city yesterday afternoon as chief guest.
On the occasion, he disbursed loan worth Tk 18 lakh among nine more beneficiaries and opened house building works of one of those. Around 45,000 more poor and marginal families are expected to become self-reliant through the anti-poverty LIUPC project in Rajshahi city within next six years.
RCC has started implementing the project in cooperation with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said Nur Islam, Executive Engineer and Member Secretary of the Project, adding that the project is intended to achieve long-term sustainable growth by eradicating urban poverty and achieving Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
The project has been designed to reach initially the unserved and underserved urban population in the city and to promote livelihoods and living conditions of 1.80 lakh poor people living in urban areas.
Mayor Liton urged all concerned to discharge their duties with utmost sincerity and honesty for proper and successful implementation of the project so that the target group of people can derive its total benefits.
Chaired by RCC Ward Councilor Masud Rana the meeting was addressed, among others, by community development committee leaders Arifa Akter and Sabina Begum.
RCC to transplant 14,000 tree saplings in current year
Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) has set a target of transplanting more than 14,000 saplings of fruit and wood trees and medicinal plants in the city areas in the current season aims at safeguarding the city environment and biodiversity.
City Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton revealed this while addressing a view-sharing meeting with all officials and others concerned at the City Bhaban conference hall here yesterday as chief guest.
The meeting discussed and devised ways and means on how to attain the transplantation goal. Liton urged all authorities of public and private entities including educational institutions and installations to supplement the city corporation’s efforts of massive plantation.
Massive tree plantation can help reduce carbon emission at a substantial level and that is very important to protect ecological balance in the dried region.
He said all quarters should take the responsibility of protecting the city and its adjacent areas from the adverse impact of climate change and massive plantation can be the vital means of attaining the cherished goal.
Liton urged the participants of the meeting to plant tree saplings including the fruit trees in all vacant places and other catchment area of all institutions to create a greenery atmosphere everywhere in the city.
There is no alternative to creating more forest area to address the adverse impacts of climate change caused by global warming.
Fruit tree plantation can be the effective means of meeting nutritional demands with food security and ecological balance, he added.
