FENI, Jan 15: Residents of Penchibaria Ashrayan Project in Fulgazi Upazila of Feni, continue to live without basic facilities even 27 years after its establishment.
The project was launched in 1999 on 8.23 acres of land in Anandapur Union to house 100 homeless families. Today, around 450 people live there.
Despite having shelter, residents say they lack health, sanitation, safe water, and employment opportunities.
Most houses are dilapidated, with broken roofs, doors, and windows. Families survive under torn polythene sheets. A community clinic built for them has been closed for a year, forcing residents to travel to the upazila hospital for treatment.
Of six tube wells, three are abandoned and the rest barely function. Forty toilets built for residents are all unusable. During monsoon, the area floods, forcing families and livestock to move elsewhere.
The community centre, meant for social functions, has collapsed due to neglect. Promised training and income generating programmes have not been delivered in the past decade, leaving families in poverty.
Only a few residents receive allowances such as old age or widow benefits, while most remain excluded from VGF cards.
Residents said loans once provided for employment were mismanaged, with many borrowers absconding and others unable to repay. Although houses have been registered in residents' names and they pay government taxes, they complain of no repairs or services.
Locals also alleged the project area has become a hub for drug users and traders at night.
Project president Abul Kalam said, "Bathrooms and tube wells are broken. This project was built 27 years ago but never repaired. We live here with great hardship."
Feni Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Fahmida Haque said, "We are aware of the situation and will visit the project with the DC. Necessary repairs will be undertaken quickly. The upazila administration will be engaged to provide facilities. We are committed to improving residents' living standards and hope the problems will be resolved soon."
