The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rajshahi

ASA, one of the leading NGOs in the country, has so far disbursed over Taka 86.13 crore micro-credit among 1,61,114 poor and marginal people in the district till last March.

This was revealed at a views sharing meeting on 'ASA's Loan Activities in Poverty Reduction' with journalists and members of the civil society at its office here on Saturday.

ASA District Manger SM Belal Hossain and Additional District Manager Saiful Islam addressed the meeting as focal persons and said the loans were disbursed through 560 workers in 13 field offices located in both urban and rural areas. They said all the remote villages of the district were brought under the micro-credit and development programmes and the rate recovery is 100 per cent.

Terming employment generation as the tested means of poverty reduction they said ASA has been implementing different micro-credit progr-ammes aimed at creating small entrepreneurs. Various need-based sectors like small business, education, healthcare assistance, agro-business and disaster rehabilitation were given top-priority under the lending programme. Apart from this, importance is also being given to self- reliance, transparency and decentr-alization, automation and job- creation aimed at making the society free from poverty that is very essential for the nation, they added.