CHATTOGRAM, Nov 18: Several hundred poor people today demonstrated in the city demanding refund of their deposited money with a non-government organisation (NGO) that has already closed down its activities.
The poor, most of whom are females working as domestic helps or ferrying goods from door to door gathered in front of Chittagong Press Club this noon with banners of the Organisation for Social Services and Elimination of Poverty (OSSEP), alleged that they had lost all their hard-earned deposits as the organisation left the city with their money.
The number of the OSSEP customers is above 300 in the city, they said. Many of them deposited thousands of taka at the rate of monthly deposit at Tk 300 a month.
They had a dream that they would be able to stand on their own feet one fine morning with their deposits and financial support of the NGO. But now they have been cheated by the OSSEP.
The demonstrators brought their monthly and weekly instalment deposit books and copies of agreement deeds. Some of them are workers in readymade garments while some others work in rolling spices with cooks in hotels or clubs.
They said the organisation had shown them different paper clippings with the photographs of many distinguished social elites attending the OSSEP functions and finding the government registration (No 15002) which allured them to deposit money with the fake organisation.
Sabina Khatun, aged around 50, said she had been depositing money with the OSSEP office in Chattogram for over three years. Now she is left penniless and does not know from whom she will get her money back.
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