The Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) has created employment opportunities for 5,000 poor women in 12 southwestern districts in Bangladesh, including Bagerhat, through its Coastal Climate Resilient Infrastructure Project (CCRIP), according to officials.

The LGED started implementing the Tk 1,230 crore CCRIP in 2013 with a high priority to create  income opportunities for rural women by hiring them as day-labourers for climate resilient infrastructure development in the 12 districts and it will continue till 2018.

Talking to UNB, CCRIP project director AKM Lutfar Rahman noted that this intervention by the project in terms of facilitating destitute village women with the much needed income opportunities will play a great role in turning the fortune of these women in the longer term.

Besides paying a daily wage of Tk125 to each of the women, workers involved in various types of work under the project that include road construction, market infrastructure development and building cyclone centres, the project also has the provision of profit sharing with the female workers.

The female day labourers who have been contracted for various construction works will also get Tk15,000-20,000 each as a profit from the development infrastructure once the works are completed, he added.

LGED chief engineer Shyama Prashad Adhikari said they have so far created short term employments for about 3 lakh women day-labourers across the country through 13 projects under the department.