The condition of people’s homes is changing. Earlier, houses of straw, mud, wood or bamboo were predominant in cities or villages. Due to their low cost and easy availability, people used to build houses by spending little money. But now the days have changed. Per capita income of people has increased. Along with that, the capacity has also increased. As a result, the condition of the house has changed. Increasing use of bricks, concrete, cement, ceramic tiles, furniture wood and burnt clay. Meanwhile, the use of wood, bamboo, mats, reeds, hogla leaves, palm or betel nut is decreasing day by day. The changing picture of the walls, floors and roofs of houses has emerged in the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) report entitled ‘Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics-2023’. It was released recently.

If you want to know, Minister of State for Planning. Shahiduzzaman Sarkar told Yugantar on Sunday that the village is no longer the same as before. Now people’s homes have improved a lot. It is a proof of increasing economic capacity. In this regard, the development of our country has had a positive impact on people’s lifestyle. As a result, people are trying to eat better or live better. Through this the standard of living has increased. But it does not end here. We have a long way to go. We are not raising the wave of satisfaction. According to the target, the government is working to move forward.

The BBS report while highlighting the characteristics of Khana (household) said that in terms of building materials for the walls of people’s dwellings, advanced materials are increasing. In this case, as of 2021, cement, concrete, brick or burnt clay used to be 43.63 percent. In 2022, it increased to 45.29 percent and in the 2023 report, it further increased to 46.30 percent. Besides, the use of ceramic tiles or furniture wood is increasing. In this case, it was 47 percent in 2021, increased to 54 percent in the next year and further increased to 70 percent in 2023. Meanwhile, the use of wood, bamboo, mat, palm or betel nut is decreasing. In 2021, their usage was 4.76 percent, the next year it decreased to 3.76 percent and in 2023 it further decreased to 3.24 percent. Along with this, the use of straw, chana, golpata, palm leaves, bichali and polythene is also decreasing. In 2021, their use was 19.19 percent, the following year it increased slightly to 20.00 percent, and in 2023, it dropped to 18.0 percent. The use of soil or clay was 8.01 percent in 2021, it decreased to 7.54 percent the following year and further decreased to 7.08 percent in 2023. The report also says that the use of metal tin, CI sheet and corrugated tin is also decreasing. Their usage was 42.86 percent in 2021, dropped slightly to 42.61 percent the following year, and further decreased to 42.44 percent in 2023.

When asked about this, Alamgir Hossain, director of the Sample Vital Registration System in Digital Platform (SVRS) project, told Yugantar on Sunday, “We have collected information about the condition of homesteads in this survey for two purposes. One is to get an idea about people’s socio-economic status and standard of living. Another is that it involves health issues. Because if the habitat is bad or dirty or weak, many pathogens can easily attack. People are more likely to get sick. But the results of the report seem to indicate that it is definitely an outgrowth of people’s economic capabilities. The use of continuously improved materials is increasing. People are making their housing better, sustainable and disaster resilient. Through this their standard of living has increased. The rate of recovery has also increased.

A BBS report on the state of residential flooring also says that advanced materials are also increasing in the construction materials of people’s residential floors. In this case, as of 2021, the use of cement, concrete, brick or burnt clay was 41.42 percent. The following year it increased to 42.41 percent and in the 2023 report it further increased to 43.37 percent. On the contrary, the use of wood, bamboo, mat, palm or betel nut is decreasing. In 2021, their use was 1.74 percent, the following year it decreased to 1.42 percent and in 2023 it further decreased to 1.23 percent. In addition, the use of ceramic tiles or furniture wood has increased greatly.

The report says that in the case of residential roofs, the use of cement and concrete has increased. In 2021, the use of this material was 18.96 percent, in 2022 it increased to 20.10 percent and in 2023 it increased to 20.91 percent. The use of wood, bamboo, thatch, straw, chan, bichali, golpata, palmapata and polythene has decreased. In 2021, their use was 0.79 percent, the following year it decreased to 0.52 percent, and in 2023, their use further decreased to 0.47 percent.