Corruption eating up Salimullah orphanage

Students and employees of the capital's Sir Salimullah Muslim Orphanage yesterday alleged that the glory of this reputed institution was being lost due to corruption.
A large portion of the orphanage's property has been sold and the rest is being grabbed, they told a discussion at the institution complex in Azimpur.
Food officer of the institution Md Shahjahan Ali said Khaja Jaki Ahsanullah, president of the current management committee of the orphanage, had started selling the property.
He said Ahsanullah, also grandson of Sir Salimullah, changed the institution's rules to establish his absolute authority. He is leading it to destruction, he added.
Denying the accusations, Ahsanullah said he had no executive power to take any decision unilaterally. “The allegations are baseless as I am not the chief administrator of the orphanage but a representative of our family,” he told The Daily Star.
Ahsanullah said a group of illegal students with some corrupt staff made the allegations.
Anisur Rahman, general secretary of the orphanage committee, said he did not know about any corruption allegations against Ahsnaullah. “It is true that some property of the orphanage was sold in 2002 or 2003 to abate financial crisis, but after 2009, during the tenure of our committee, no property was sold.”
Some former and current students also observed that the orphanage was not being run well due to corruption and looting in recent years.
Nawab Khaja Halim, another member of Salimullah's clan, urged politicians and the civil society to come forward and draw the prime minister's attention to save the institution.
It is necessary to take legal and social steps to protect the reputed institution for the sake of orphans, said Ain o Salish Kendra Chairperson Hameeda Hossain.
Nijera Kori Coordinator Khushi Kabir, among others, also spoke on the occasion.