The Asrayan Prokalpo has been running successfully to make 1,830 river-eroded and natural disaster-hit destitute families self-reliant through various income generation activities in the district in recent years.
The rehabilitated families have got permanent shelter, address and ensured livelihoods now and also alleviated abject poverty with the blessings of the Asrayan Prokalpo, one of the most effective projects of the government.According to sources, the project has become effective in rehabilitating the river-eroded floating people and cutting poverty through implementation of the comprehensive social safety-net programmes. So far, construction works of 230 tin-shed barrack houses, under 21 projects out of targeted 34, have been completed and 2,300 floating families rehabilitated under all eight upazilas in Rangpur district since
1997. The concerned upazila level local government departments have been implementing comprehensive activities for mainstreaming the rehabilitated people by making them self-reliant through providing all necessary support,training and assistance.
Under the project, all adult male and females of the rehabilitated families have been provided necessary training for increasing awareness on various issues, expertise and human resource development to engage them with income-generation works. Gangachara Upazila Cooperatives Officer Hosne Ara Begum said 750 floating families have been rehabilitated in 12 barrack houses in the upazila and Taka 65.87 lakh easy-term revolving microcredit have been distributed among them so far. The beneficiary people have already achieved tremendous socioeconomic success following proper use of the training, government assistances and credit management under official supervision and the process continues successfully. Like other project beneficiaries, 90 rehabilitated families at Purbo
Kochua-1 Asrayan Prokalpo in Nohali union have set up a dazzling example in cooperative microcredit loan payments after achieving self-reliance through income generations in recent years. Rehabilitated Nazrul and his wife Bulbuli Begum said that they got back
life anew and brighter future for children getting the easy-term microcredit under the government’s comprehensive social safety-net
programmes. “We are making profits to raise our capital through small-scale business, animal husbandry, poultry, tree plantation, vegetables and fruit farming at homesteads,” said Alef Uddin and his wife Feroza Khatun. They are now leading better life with their children though despite they became homeless some thirteen years back when the Teesta devoured everything they had in nearby village Purbo Kochua Fakirpara in the same upazila. Rehabilitated couple Nurul Amin and Shahana said they have raised own capitals through small-scale businesses, animal husbandry, poultry, homestead gardening utilising the microcredit and training under the
programme. Couple Moshiur Rahman and Anichha Begum said they purchased aheifer and an old shallow machine after getting Taka 6,000 cooperative microcredit for the first time. After completing loan payment, they again got Taka 9,000, purchased another
cow and 12 decimals cultivable land, again Taka 12,000 and later got Taka 15,000 microcredit after completing payments of their successive loans. They said they have now assets of about Taka 2.60 lakh and are earning better through cultivating crops, crushing paddy and irrigating crop fields using shallow machine and their children Minal, Tazul and Tanzina are going to the local schools. Like others, Tobiya Khatun, couples Nurul Amin and Shahana, Hafizul and Bijlee, Alamgir and Saifun Nahar, Momidul Islam and Beauty Begum also narrated their success stories in changing their fortune. Chairman of Nohali union Abul Kalam Azad Titul in Gangachara upazila said the Asrayan Prokalpo dwellers have achieved sustainable success after getting necessary training, proper utilisation of cooperative microcredit and other government assistance. -BSS, Rangpur
