Around 45,000 more marginal and less-income families are expected to become self-reliant through an anti-poverty project in Rajshahi city in next six years. Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) started implementing the project titled ‘National Urban Poverty Reduction Project (NUPRP)’ in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

RCC Executive Engineer and Member Secretary of the project Nur Islam revealed this while giving an overview of the project in a view-sharing meeting with all stakeholders at city Bhaban conference hall recently. RCC Ward Councilor Nizam Ul Azim, Chief Community Development Officer Azizur Rahman, Infrastructure and Housing Officer Hasibul Alam, NUPRP Town Manager Abdul Qayum Mondal also addressed the meeting.

Engineer Islam said the NUPRP 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 served and underserved urban population in the city and to promote livelihoods and living conditions of 1.80 lakh poor people living in urban areas.

Earlier, around 55,000 slum people under 171 community development committees have come together in anti-poverty savings scheme involving around Tk 12 crore with the support of UNDP’s another project. “Through the savings and credit programmes, the communities now can operate their own savings schemes and create a revolving fund from which credit operations are being managed” , added Engineer Islam.