Khurshid Alam,  Sherpur 

Unbelievable but true — even in the past decade, the residents of Gomra Cluster Village in Jhenaigati Upazila of Sherpur have not received Qurbani meat.

Locally, this village is also known as 'Bhumihin Para'. About three thousand people live in this entire village, most of whom are landless. For livelihood, they live on government Khas land and barely manage to survive by cultivating vegetables in their yard and selling labor.

In this village, there is hardly any Qurbani. In 2012, the government constructed a cluster village with foreign aid to rehabilitate the rootless people of the area. It is known that 30 landless families were rehabilitated in this cluster village. All the men and women of the village are day laborers. They earn their living through daily wages.

Although 30 families have been rehabilitated, no government arrangement has been made for their livelihood. Currently, over a hundred people including men, women, and children live in this cluster village.

If they miss a day’s work, the stove in their house remains unlit. They have to spend that day in hunger or half-fed. Anguri Begum (70), a resident and abandoned wife of the cluster village, supports her family through daily labor. Her two sons and four daughters are married, and she struggles to support their families. Despite her old age, she still has to go out for work due to livelihood needs.

Though they have shelter, they have not received any government assistance such as old-age allowance, widow allowance, or any other support. Most of the villagers face the same situation.

Talking to the villagers including the General Secretary of the village, Mr. Ali, it was learned that in all these years they have not received Qurbani meat even once. The villagers stated that last year, the Upazila administration collected photocopies of ID cards promising to distribute Qurbani meat, but eventually, nothing was given.

When contacted, the UNO  Ashraful Alam Russell, said he would look into the matter.