Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader yesterday urged the government to ensure food security of poor and jobless people during this lockdown, by making an unbiased list of them.

“Families of unemployed people are going through serious ordeal amid coronavirus,” he said in a statement.

Referring to a recent study by PPRC and Brac, the Jatiya Party chief said living standards of about 15 percent of the country’s people — or about 2.45 crore — have fallen below the poverty line anew during the one year of the Covid pandemic.

He said there are now nearly 3.5 crore poor people in the country with the new ones.

GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, said the number of poor people in the country will increase further due to the lockdown enforced by the government to tackle the second wave of the coronavirus.

He said many people have lost their sources of income due to the lockdown.  “There’s no food at the homes of those who live from hand to mouth.”

Quader said many families of unemployed poor are facing a disastrous situation for lack of food, life-saving drugs and baby food during the lockdown.

“Under such a situation, we demand the government make a proper list of the poor and strengthen the social security programme to ease their sufferings,” he added.