Money spent on installation, not on maintenance
Like everywhere else in the country, the hand wash basins, set up in Pirojpur town when the first wave of Covid-19 struck the country last year, are lying in neglect.
When those were installed, many people did not wish to use those simply out of lack of awareness. But now, when more of them are aware of the benefits of washing hands frequently, the wash basins are left unclean and without necessary supplies -- clean water and soap.
Many of the basins now are either damaged or so dirty that touching those might even cause health risks to the public.
Many government and private offices throughout a good part of last year did not allow visitors to enter the office premises without washing their hands at the wash basins set up outside the offices.
But later, when the number of novel coronavirus infections gradually fell across the country, most offices eventually stopped making their visitors wash hands prior to making entry.
With a second wave of the virus waiting to break out, this correspondent tried to locate the hand wash facilities that were installed last year at public places around Pirojpur town, especially at government offices or hospitals.
But, none of those were found to be in a condition recommended by health experts.
The wash basins installed on the premises of Pirojpur Sadar Upazila Parishad and Pirojpur District Hospital had water supply, but did not have any soap.
A hand wash outlet, installed by Pirojpur Zila Parishad, beside the BRTC counter near CO Office intersection, bore all indications that it had never been cleaned. A large water tank was connected to it, but there was no water in the tank or any soap on the soap dish.
Many townspeople this correspondent spoke with said many of the residents of the town now feel that they no longer need to wash hands before entering an office.
But the ones who still want to continue the practice for the sake of public safety, are in no luck as there is not a single operational hand wash outlet in the entire town, they said frustratingly.
Shahidul Islam, a resident of the town, said, "Although we washed our hands several times a day when the Coronavirus first broke out, we had to stop the practice as no hand wash facilities are found to be operational in the town anymore."
Hand wash outlets must be cleaned and maintained properly so the general public would be enticed into using those, said Obydul Haque, another resident of the town.
Ishtiaq Ahmed, a medical officer at Pirojpur District Hospital, said, "Hand washing is the best way to protect us from different diseases" and people should get used to continuing this practice.
Contacted, Rebeka Khan, chief executive officer of Pirojpur Zila Parishad, said as part of an emergency measure, they installed the hand wash outlets at key locations in every upazila to ensure access to hand wash facilities for the general public.
Even though they "have no funds for its maintenance", they have asked the upazila parishads, if necessary, to send bills of expenses spent for the maintenance of the hand wash outlets installed by the zila parishad.
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