152 Ashrayan Project Homes Locked: Financial Irregularities in Allocation, Women and Drugs Trade at Night

❐ Staff correspondent

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The 152 houses of the Ashrayan project for landless and homeless families in Raipur, Laxmipur, have been locked for a long time. Many of those allotted houses are not staying in these houses but are staying in their village houses.

Locals complain that drug dealing takes place in some shelters after dark. However, the administration has not intervened in the complaints of drug and women trafficking.

According to official figures, 467 families have been provided houses under the Ashrayan project in Raipur Upazila. Of these, 315 houses are occupied; the remaining 152 houses are reported to be locked.

Since many of those allocated land are in rural homes, there has been a demand to provide new houses to the truly landless and homeless.

This picture can be seen when visiting the shelter and accommodation centers in Banglabazar of Bamni Union of the upazila, Khalifarhat, Miarhat and Hajimara of South Charbangshi Union, and Medinabazar of North Charbangshi Union.

On the spot, locks were seen on the doors of many houses. Weeds and dirt were piled up in front of some houses. The toilets and water taps in some houses were broken; there were also allegations of taps being stolen in some places.

Residents of the shelter also reported a lack of clean water, waterlogging, collapsed pond walls, and a lack of cemetery facilities.

Raipur Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Nigar Sultana said that no one is living in the 152 houses of the shelter project. An application has been made to reallocate the houses.

Locks in 152 rooms

A total of 467 houses have been constructed under the Ashrayan project in Raipur Upazila. Of these, 94 houses are in Banglabazar of Bamni Union and 10 in Shibpur. There are 9 houses next to Mirganj Bazar of Keroa Union.

45 houses have been built in Miarhat, 44 in Hajimara and 117 in Karimiya in Dakshin Charbangshi Union. There are 24 houses in Kuchiamara in Uttar Charbangshi Union and 43 houses in Medinabazar. There are 79 houses in Udmara village in Dakshin Char Ababil Union.

Area-wise, 40 houses are locked in Banglabazar, 14 in Miarhat, 14 in Hajimara, 13 in Medinabazar, 8 in Kuchiamara, 11 in Udmara and 32 in Karimiya.

Allegations of irregularities in allocation

Some locals have alleged irregularities in the allocation of houses under the Ashrayan project. They claim that in some cases, wealthy individuals and relatives of public representatives have received houses instead of the genuine landless and homeless.

Even after receiving the allocation, many people are living in their own homes instead of moving there.

There are also allegations that beneficiaries were charged between Tk 6,000 and Tk 20,000 during the allocation of houses in some shelters, including Hajimara and Miarahat in Dakshin Charbangshi Union.

There have also been allegations of charging money for filling the floor and balcony of the house. However, no statement was received from anyone concerned regarding these allegations.

Former Upazila Vice Chairman Advocate Maruf Bin Zakaria and local social worker Monir Hossain Molla said they have received complaints of irregularities in the allocation of houses under the Ashrayan project.

They also said that there are allegations against the Upazila Land Office and the chairman and members of the Union Parishad of allocating houses in exchange for money. They claimed that drug parties take place in some shelters after dark.

Low allocation, poor quality of construction work – Chairman claims

Abu Saleh Mintu Faraji, chairman of Dakshin Charbangshi Union Parishad, said that the construction of the houses under the shelter project was of poor quality due to the low allocation amount.

According to him, members have collected 6,000 to 10,000 taka from beneficiaries for filling the floors and balconies with soil. Many have worked as laborers without pay as they are building their own houses.

He also said that the land office charged 1,200 taka from each person for house registration.

Water shortage, broken toilets

Residents of the shelter said that there are problems with water supply from deep tube wells in many places. Although there are ponds in some places, the ghats are broken. The banks of ponds next to some houses have broken, putting the houses at risk. Many toilets are also not in a usable condition. The suffering has increased as water taps have been damaged or stolen.

Residents complain that despite multiple requests to the upazila administration to resolve the problems of clean water shortage, graveyards, and waterlogging, no effective measures have been taken.

Administration assures to take action

Raipur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mehedi Hasan Kausar said that 152 houses of the Ashrayan project are locked. If there is a wealthy person’s name in the allocation list, he will be excluded and houses will be given to the truly homeless.

He also said that the shelters will be inspected soon and necessary measures will be taken.

Upazila Project Implementation Officer (PIO) Abdul Hai Khan said that earlier, Engineer Ashikur Rahman supervised the construction of the houses.

The government design states that each shelter home will be about 500 square feet in size. Each home will have two bedrooms, a kitchen, a utility room, a toilet, and a balcony. These disaster-resistant homes will also have solar panels and lightning protection systems. The cost of constructing each semi-paca home was estimated at 1.71 lakh taka.