Over 16 lakh families don’t have shelters

Mahfuja Mukul : More than 16 lakh families of the country do not have their own houses. That is, they do not have any residence anywhere in the country to live. They live in someone’s house with or without rent or otherwise. However, the number of such families in the country is decreasing day by day. Most people who do not have their own residence live in Sylhet and Dhaka divisions. And least in Mymensingh division. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Sample Vital Statistics (SVRS) report shows this picture of not having own residence.
The SVRS report was recently published by BBS. It has been said that 3.92 percent of the total families in the country do not have their own house to live in. According to the latest census, the total number of households in the country is 4 crore 10 lakh 8 thousand 217. Accordingly, the number of families without their own house is 15 lakh 99 thousand 320. According to the latest survey, the average number of members in each family is 4.19. Accordingly, 67 lakh 35 thousand 517 people live in other people’s houses with or without rent.
BBS says, even if they don’t have their own houses to live can’t be called homeless. Because they usually stay in other people’s houses with rent or rent free. In this regard, SVRS project director Alamgir Hossain told that the number of families who do not have their own residence in the country has been highlighted in the report. They cannot be called homeless. Because they are not homeless. Even if they do not have their own house, they have accommodation.
According to the SVRS report, 4.52 percent of households without their own home were in 2021, which decreased to 3.93 percent in 2022. In 2023, this rate has further decreased to 3.92 percent.
According to the report, 96.08 percent of families have their own house to live in, which was 96.07 percent in 2022. In 2021, it was 95.48 percent. In other words, home ownership has increased by about one percent of families in a span of two years. Compared to 2021, about 300,000 families own their own houses in 2023.
There are more households in cities that do not own their own homes. Because homeless people are not visible in the village.
Even if it is not their own, people build houses on other people’s or relatives’ land or on riverside land. Many people also live on the embankments in the coastal areas. People who have none of these options move to cities.
There are more families in Sylhet division who do not have their own residence anywhere in the country. 8.1 percent of the families of this category do not have their own residential house. After this is Dhaka Division. 7.2 percent families of this category do not have their own houses.
On the other hand, Mymensingh Division has the lowest number of households without owning a house. Only 1.6 percent of families in this category do not have their own residence. Chittagong and Rajshahi divisions are in the second and third position respectively in terms of number of homeless families. 2 percent of the families in these two categories do not have their own house.
According to stakeholders, poverty is linked to homelessness. River erosion leaves many people homeless every year. Many lands of the country are lost in rivers at various times. A large part of it is residential. In the village, many families have only their dwellings. If that life is lost in the river, it is not possible for many people to buy land and build new houses. They first took shelter in the nearby towns. Most come to Dhaka.
Meanwhile, the number of sublets in the country is increasing due to loss of rural housing and migration from villages to cities and lack of housing to live in. In 2021, the number of households taking sublet housing was 2.4 percent. In 2022, it increased to 3.3 percent. In 2023, this number has increased to 4.1 percent.
Households paying sublet rents have also increased. In 2021 this rate was 0.5 percent, in 2022 it was 0.7 percent and in 2023 it was 0.9 percent. In keeping with this situation, the number of people living in a single house (family) has decreased. In 2021, this rate was 97.1 percent, the next year it decreased to 96 percent, and in 2023 it further decreased to 95 percent.