Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today handed over 18,566 more houses to the homeless and landless families as gift before Eid across the country under the government's flagship housing programme Ashrayan-2 project to ensure housing for all.

She distributed the homes along with the ownership documents of land among the beneficiaries through a video-conferencing from a function at Gono Bhaban.

The prime minister also announced 70 more upazilas of 26 districts landless-and-homeless-free by handing over the houses under the second stage of the fifth phase of Ashrayan-2 project, raising the number of landless and homeless free districts to 58 and the upazilas to 464 across the country.

Kaliganj upazila of Lalmonirhat, Eidgaon upazila of Cox's Bazar and Char Fashion upazila of Bhola were virtually connected to the house distribution ceremony.

The prime minister provided 1,282 houses in Lalmonirhat, 261 in Cox's Bazar and 1,234 in Bhola districts.

Earlier, she distributed 63,999 houses in the first phase, 53,330 in the second phase, 59,133 in the third phase and 39,365 in the fourth phase of the Ashrayan-2 project across the country.

Under the project, each of the landless and homeless families is being given a semi-pucca house on two decimals of land with the ownership in the name of both husband and wife.

Each house consists of two bedrooms, one kitchen, one toilet and veranda.

According to the project details, a total of 266,012 landless and homeless families were rehabilitated in the first, second, third, fourth and the first stage of the fifth phases of the Ashrayan-2 Prakalpa.

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman introduced the rehabilitation programme for homeless people in 1972.

Following the footprints of Bangabandhu, her daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took the initiative to provide ownership of houses and lands to the homeless and landless people through the Ashrayan project in 1997.

Under the Ashrayan project, a total of 771,301 families have been rehabilitated so far since 1997. The number of rehabilitated people is 3,856,505 (estimated as five persons in a family).

So far, 4,340,000 people of 867,904 landless and homeless families have been rehabilitated under the Ashrayan and other programmes across the country while 2,910,265 of 582,053 landless and homeless people have been rehabilitated under the Ashrayan project only, the document said.

PM's Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah moderated the house distribution programme.

The prime minister later exchanged views with the beneficiaries.

A video documentary on the house schemes was also screened on the occasion.