Indian president will visit Kumudini complex today

File photo of Bharateswari Homes at Kumudini Complex at Mirzapur in Tangail. Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a three-day official visit to Bangladesh, is expected to make a trip along with his wife Shuvra Mukherjee to the complex today.

The institutions under Kumudini Welfare Trust (KWT), founded by philanthropist Ranada Prosad Saha in Mirzapur upazila under the district, have taken all-out preparations as Pranab Mukherjee, first Bengali president of India, visits there today.
"Pranab, who is on a three-day official visit to Bangladesh, along with his wife Shuvra Mukherjee will land on Kumudini Complex by a helicopter at around 1:30pm today. They will be given reception by the students and teachers of Bharateswari Homes, Kumudini Women's Medical College and Kumudini Nursing School and College and staff of the trust," said Razib Prosad Saha, managing director of KWT, and grandson RP Saha.

Pranab Mukherjee

After taking lunch at the library, the Indian president will visit Bharateswari Homes and enjoy acrobatics by the students of the institute, said Protibha Mutsuddi, director (Education) of KWT.
He will also visit several wards of Kumudini Hospital, said Dr Dulal Poddar, director of the hospital.
Pranab will also lay the foundation stone of a sewerage project funded by India inside the Kumudini Complex, KWT sources said.
Ranada Prosad Saha, popularly known as RP Saha, was born at Mirzapur village near the then sub-divisional town of Tangail under the erstwhile Mymensingh district on November 15, 1886.
When he was only seven years old, his mother died from tetanus infection during childbirth. Since then, he dreamt of establishing a hospital to provide medical treatment for the poor, especially women.
After working as a ticket collector on trains during the British rule, RP Saha joined the Medical Corps of the British Bengal Regiment during the First World War. He was given a gallantry award for saving some British officers from a fire.
After his return from the war, RP Saha engaged in coal trade. He later started a river transportation business and made a fortune in it.
In 1943, he set up a dispensary and a 20-bed outdoor facility, naming it after his grandmother Shova Sundari.
Thus began Kumudini Hospital, named after his mother and formally inaugurated in July 1944. Today, with 750 seats, it continues to serve the people, especially poor patients, providing them with hospital accommodation, meal and treatment free of cost, and charging only nominal fees for surgical procedures.
In 1944, RP Saha established Bharateswari Homes, a residential school for girls. Currently it has 1200 seats and continues producing well-rounded and socially responsible students who excel in different fields.
In 1947, RP Saha placed all his companies under Kumudini Welfare Trust (KWT), making provision for using their earnings to run the welfare activities.
After the partition of 1947, friends and well-wishers advised RP Saha, being a Hindu, to move to India. But he decided to stay in his home country and serve the people here.
During the Liberation War, members of the Pakistan occupation army picked up RP Saha and his eldest son Bhabani Prosad Saha Robi from their Narayanganj residence on May 7 in 1971, and they remained traceless ever after.