RANGPUR: The poorer section people are leading normal life by winning over extreme poverty following continuous improvement of their livelihoods and socioeconomic conditions during the past eight years, reports BSS.
Though the poor lived in miseries, especially during the seasonal lean period of ‘monga’ in Aswin and Kartik months even a decade ago, a successful implementation of massive social safety net programmes (SSNPs) has ended their sufferings.“The government has been implementing SSNPs as priority initiatives of Prime Minsiter Sheikh Hasina to ensure social security of poor, backward and underprivileged people,” Deputy Commissioner Rahat Anwar said.
According to district administration sources, the SSNPs include Test Relief (TR), Food for Work (FFW), Kabita, Vulnerable Group Development (VGD), Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF), old-age allowances, allowances for disabled people, widows and distressed women.The SSNPs also include Asrayan Prakalpa, micro-credits, training, allowances for freedom fighters, divorcees, poor pregnant women, poor lactating mothers, open market sale of rice, rice sale at Tk 10 per kg, stipends, rehabilitation and other programmes. Under the Asrayan Prakalpa, 4,250 river-eroded families improved livelihoods after their rehabilitation so far at 486 tin-shed barrack houses under 37 projects in the district, the sources said.
District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Faridul Haque said development works under TR, FFW and Kabita programmes were implemented spending 7,874 tonnes of food grains during last fiscal year alone. District Women Affairs Officer Kawser Parveen said that 14,114 tonnes of rice/wheat was distributed among 19,604 destitute women under VGD programme during the 2015-2016 cycles in the district.
Department of Youth Development (DYD) provided training to 2,468 unemployed male and female youths on 11 vocational and other trades to make them self-reliant during the same period.