Thrust on collective efforts to mitigate urban poverty

FE Team | Published: February 17, 2019 20:33:23

RAJSHAHI, Feb 17 (BSS): Collective efforts from all concerned have become an urgent need to eradicate urban poverty caused by the adverse impact of climate change.
The observation came at an inception meeting of a project titled 'Poverty reduction through goat rearing" at the Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) conference hall on Saturday.
The RCC will implement the project with financial support from GIZ under its 'Urban Management of Internal Migration due to Climate Change (UMIMCC)' Project.
The project will provide 124 goats to 60 distressed women with an aim of making them self-reliant.
Under this UMIMCC project, short and long-term job- oriented training and health care facilities will be provided to the ultra-poor and poor class people and infrastructure will be built in city areas for providing shelter for those people.
City Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton addressed the meeting as the chief guest with its Chief Executive Officer Rejaul Karim in the chair.
Panel Mayor Tahera Begum, Ward Councillor Nazrul Islam, Deputy Director of Department of Social Service Rashedul Kabir, Editor of Daily Sonar Desh Akbarul Hassan Millat and GIZ Adviser Akteruzzaman Rana also spoke on the occasion.
The mayor said the rural poor with their recurrent disaster exposures are migrating into urban areas. These new comers face a high employment crisis in city and with very poor-quality housing and other well-being further tapping them into a deeper urban poverty cycle.
Climate change is becoming a threat to the urban environment and development and livelihood as well the uncertainty. The urban poverty is highly linked to rural disaster risks.
The urbanisation situation, particularly the housing in the city is getting more acute every year.
Mr Liton said all the vulnerability issues need to be brought under comprehensive risk based master plan to accommodate at least 30 per cent people from vulnerable rural areas around.