Entrance blocked by owners of surrounding lands

While the government is firm to take health service to people's door through 13,136 community clinics across the country, service seekers of Motigachha village in Atghoria upazila are blocked from entering the clinic by the owners of the surrounding lands.

The clinic, located about 500-feet from Motigachha Bazar, was built on five decimals of land donated by the villagers in 2001.

Although the villagers agreed to make a passage for the clinic through their personal properties at that time, new owners of surrounding lands blocked the entrance of the clinic by erecting bamboo fences around their land.

“As most of the surrounding lands of the clinic are sold to others, present owners took possession of their land by erecting bamboo fences,” a committee member of the clinic Amzad Bishwas said, adding, “It sparked widespread criticism since the key entrance of the clinic was blocked with bamboo fences about a month ago, halting all kinds of movement.”

“When we tired to protest the sudden blocking of the road, the present owners of the land showed legal documents in favour of taking over possession of the land,” Amzad said.

Rekha Rani Karmokar, community health care provider (CHCP) of the clinic, said the number of patients in the clinic has reduced drastically in the last one month or so as the entrance passage is blocked.

Photo: Star

Now some 10 to 15 patients visit the clinic every day although the number was minimum 50 to 60 only a month ago, she said, adding that most of the villagers prefer to go to the upazila health complex now.

Higher health officials at upazila and district levels have already been informed of the matter, Rekha added.

Atghoria Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Md Abul Hossain agreed that it is a problem and also expressed his frustration in this regard.

“As we have no legal rights to recover the passage, we are trying to compromise with the villagers,” Abul said.