DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sjahss.2025.v13i11.008

Pages: 507-518

The Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project (PMBP) in Bangladesh, a government-financed effort to connect the central and southwestern parts of the country and integrate with the Asian Highway and Euro-Asian railway, significantly impacted over 15,000 direct and 70,000 total affected households. To address this, an Income and Livelihood Restoration Plan (ILRP) and a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) were implemented. A study was conducted to assess the socioeconomic condition of the affected people, determine the project's impact and vulnerability, and verify their satisfaction with relocation and rehabilitation. The key recommendations derived from this investigation include ensuring the timely provision of legal documents and relocation costs, offering intensive livelihood restoration training (especially for women), facilitating new employment and business opportunities with access to low-interest funds, redesigning socioeconomic and public health awareness programs, adhering to the original resettlement site designs, and establishing participatory monitoring and consultation meetings to ensure the sustainable livelihood of the affected persons.