Around a decade after their construction, three modern 20-bed hospitals in Nandigram, Shibganj and Adamdighi upazilas have not started operating yet due to political reasons, shortage of manpower and administrative negligence.

The hospitals in Nandigram and  Shibganj were inaugurated in 2006, while the one at Santahar in Adamdighi is incomplete as the construction company left in 2005, leaving 21 percent of the work undone.

District Civil Surgeon (CS) Md Shamsul Haque told this reporter that the local health engineering department handed over the hospital in Nandigram to them in 2013, but they could not start functioning due to lack of doctors and staff and non-allocation of medicine.

On a recent visit, this reporter saw that medical equipment, including lights in the operation theatre, X-ray machine, ECG machine, generators, chairs, tables, patients' beds and other equipment and furniture are getting damaged. 

Locals blamed the hostile relations between Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders for the situation.

They alleged that the BNP government inaugurated the hospitals in 2006 without recruiting sufficient manpower, only to get political credibility. On the other hand, the present government is not taking any initiative to start the hospitals as the BNP government began the projects.

Residents demanded early steps for a modern hospital in Nandigram to ensure adequate medical facilities for the people of the  upazila.

The hospital was completed 13 years ago but is yet to start functioning, said Nurul Islam, 46, of Chukaipara village.

In 2002, the then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia's son Tarique Rahman laid the foundation stone and construction work was finished in 2006. Former BNP lawmaker Ziaul Haque Molla inaugurated the Nandigram 20-bed hospital on October 18, 2006.

According to the district health engineering department, the total expenditure was Tk 3.26 crore.

Aliyar Hat 20-bed hospital in Shibganj upazila of Bogra has been left abandoned since it was constructed in 2006.

“Eighteen posts have been created for the Nandigram 20-bed hospital, but we have only one medical officer, one lab technician, one pharmacist, one lab assistant and five nurses, but now they are all working in the upazila health complex at Bizrul,” said CS Md Shamsul Haque.

If the Nandigram hospital starts operating, around 1,68,155 people of the upazila will be directly benefited.

Former MP Molla told this correspondent that they hurriedly inaugurated the hospital in 2006 and later became busy with the political activities. He said the local administration could not present the situation properly to the government.

“If it is addressed properly by the government, the problem can be solved,” he added

The hospital at Aliyar Hat in Shibganj was constructed within five km of the upazila health complex at a cost of Tk 4.32 crore at the same time as the Nandigram hospital, but it still remains unused.

Pharmacist of the hospital, Md Ulul Azam, said they get six to seven types of medicine from the upazila health complex and distribute those among the patients.

Md Bachchu Mia, 65, of Sonadewul village said poor people get only some cheap medicines from the hospital.

“If something serious happens at night, we have to go to the upazila health complex or the district hospital, which is 25 km from here. Therefore, people want the hospital to start functioning as soon as possible,” said Md Shahidul Islam, 36, a shopkeeper in Aliyar Hat.

 Many locals said they do not think that the hospital will be launched under the present government because it was started during BNP regime.

“There are 19 posts created by the health ministry for the Aliyar Hat 20-bed hospital, but we do not have adequate doctors and other necessary staffs to operate the hospital,” said Md Salimullah Akanda, upazila health and family planning officer of Shibganj Upazila Health Complex.

“One medical officer and 10 staff allocated for the Aliyar Hat hospital are currently working at the upazila health complex,” he added.

Administrative approval, electricity supply, allocation of medicine, and political goodwill are needed for starting the Aliyar Hat hospital, he said.

CS Shamsul said it impossible to run a 20-bed hospital with one medical officer, one consultant and nine staff.

According the civil surgeon's office, all sorts of medical equipment remain unused in Aliyar Hat hospital.

Around 4, 27,913 people will be directly benefited if the hospital starts operating.

Almost 89 percent of the construction of Santahar 20-bed hospital was done by January in 2005, but it is yet to be completed.

Construction stopped when the contractor left the work in 2005.

“We have Tk 1.5 crores left for completing construction under the 4th Health, Nutrition and Population Sector Programme,” said Bogra Health Engineering Department Executive Engineer Ashutosh Karmaker.

If the Santahar 20-bed hospital starts operating, around 1,87,012 people of Adamdighi upazila will be directly benefited.