By Md. Shahidul Islam from Rajshahi
Despite the implementation of different development project with budget of multi-billion in Rajshahi in recent times, there has been no development project addressing the housing needs of the city’s marginalized population. There has been no effective plan to build safe and livable housing for the poor. The marginalized community in the city have demanded to ensure safe housing for them.
To communicate their demand a human chain was formed at Lakepara in the Namovodra slum of Rajshahi recently where the marginalized community press their demand for safe housing on the occasion of World Habitat Day 2024. Men and women from various slums of Rajshahi participated in the event.
The human chain was organized by the Committee for the Realization of the Rights of Urban Poor People and was facilitated by researcher and regional coordinator of BARCIK, Md. Shahidul Islam. Speakers at the event included Khorshed Alam, convener of the Committee for the Realization of the Rights of Urban Poor People, Nilufa Ismat Ara, the committee’s member secretary, and Shaikh Tasnim Jamal, president of the Barendra Youth Forum, among others.
According to the speakers, as per the 2014 slum census, there are 104 slums in Rajshahi, housing over 20,000 families. Of these, about 80.55% of households live in shanties or small tin houses on government land. Like other cities in the country, the number of slums in Rajshahi is increasing day by day. There is no visible development for the slum dwellers and landless marginalized people of this city. Families have to live in cramped shanties, often facing the threat of eviction. In addition, they are deprived of basic rights like electricity and water.
In his concluding speech convener Md. Khorshed Alam reiterated the demand for the immediate launch of safe housing initiatives for the poor and slum dwellers of Rajshahi. He questioned why housing projects are taken up every year for the rich people by the Housing Authority and Rajshahi Development Authority, but not for the poor. He demanded the construction of safe housing for slum dwellers either free of cost or at a minimal price.