Masud Rana, Barishal

For the first time, a high-ranking officer of the armed forces has been appointed as the Director in Barishal Sher-e Bangla Medical College Hospital to prevent corruption and provide best services to patients.

The Ministry of Public Administration issued a notification on November 7 appointing Brigadier General AKM Mashiul Munir, an officer of the Bangladesh Army, as the director.

The army officer officially assumed charge at Hospital on Monday (November 25), and was welcomed by the officers and employees working at the hospital with flowers.

The expectations of the people of Barishal have been fulfilled to some extent with the appointment and joining of an army officer as the director of Shebachim.

There have been demands for an army officer to be appointed as the director here for a long time, alleging failure in running the only medical service center in the southern region, which is plagued by multiple problems. In particular, the people of Barisal are outraged by the unlimited irregularities and corruption that have been committed by some individuals in the last 16 years of the Awami League, which have brought the quality of healthcare to the lowest level and made the hospital medical system fragile.

In the context of patient deaths due to medical negligence and attacks on trainee doctors when their relatives protested, public anger has further strengthened the issue of appointing army officers to Shebachim. After the change of Awami League government on August 5, local leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement had also been making similar demands to the Interim Government led by Prof Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

The interim government is receiving praise for appointing army officers to Shebachim to fulfill the long-standing expectations of the people of Barisal and the entire southern region. Experienced circles say that such a positive decision by the Dr Yunus government is auspicious and a blessing for the people of Barisal. This decision by the government, realizing the aspirations of the people, has the opportunity to modernize the only government service center in the future and ensure improved healthcare in this marginal town.

Various sources say that this largest medical college hospital in Asia, established in 1968, had become a hotbed of irregularities and corruption during the Awami League's rule for the past 16 years. Specially in 2014, when the Awami League came to power for the second term, at least three directors appointed for political reasons have committed widespread looting in the hospital. There are allegations against them of embezzling food money from service seekers, embezzling development allocations, and recruitment trade. In addition, there are serious allegations of taking salaries from the people's money and using the Awami League's lazarus to hold patients hostage in exchange for services.

Sources say that during the Awami League's rule, everyone who was appointed to Shebachim Hospital and College came with the dust of Abul Hasanat Abdullah, the alleged guardian of Barishal and Sheikh Hasina's cousin. Hasanat Abdullah was the President of the Management Committee of the Hospital for a long time. And his decision would determine who would come as the director of Shebachim Hospital.

There are allegations that during the Awami League era, unqualified people were appointed for political reasons, creating scope for looting and the quality of healthcare went down, which made the MP for Barisal Sadar constituency and State Minister for Water Resources Colonel (retired) Zahid Faruk Shamim very angry. But he was not able to compete with the political power and influence of the veteran Awami League leader Hasanat Abdullah. When Abul Khair alias Khokon Serniabat was elected mayor with the boat symbol in the controversial Barishal City Corporation elections on June 12 last year, Hasanat Abdullah's power and prestige in local politics decreased. Although Hasanat and Abul Khair Abdullah were brothers, they had a tumultuous relationship. Later, early this year, after Zahid Farooq Shamim was elected MP for the second time from the Sadar constituency and took charge of the same ministry, Hasanat Abdullah was removed and made the chairperson of the hospital's management committee.

Zahid Farooq's followers alleged that Atharva Hasanat Abdullah Shebachim Hospital, in order to maintain his dominance, as well as to loot government funds, recommended people he liked to be appointed to the top chair of Shebachim before each appointment. And those recommended by him were appointed and later became directors, and they anointed Hasanat Abdullah with oil to play the role of health care provider, including serving as Awami League's legionnaire.

Meanwhile, the demand to appoint an army officer as the director of Shebachim Hospital had been a long-standing one, on which the Barisal civil society had sought the intervention of the government after several programs were implemented. But during the long tenure of the Awami League government, it did not yield any results.

According to sources, after the change of government on August 5, the 'Anti-Discrimination Student Movement' demanded the resignation of Shebachim Director Md. Saiful Islam on charges of creating a poor state of health care by serving as a legionnaire of irregularities, corruption, arbitrariness and tyranny.

In addition, the students stayed at the hospital every morning and afternoon to encourage the officials and employees to provide comprehensive health services to the patients and sought government intervention to eliminate the Awami League culprits. This led to tension between the leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement and the officials and employees of the Awami League Manasca Shebachim Hospital for a few days. Although the director did not resign in the face of the students' fire, on August 31, 12 doctors of the hospital were declared undesirable, accusing them of various controversial activities in the past.

The students of the anti-discrimination student movement alleged that the senior consultant of the medical college and hospital, Sudip Kumar Halder, Resident Surgeon Mashreful Islam Saikat, Medical Officer Shirin Sabiha Tanni, Internal Medicine A.S.M. Sayem, former director of the hospital Bakir Hossain, former principal SM Sarwar, Vice principal GM Nazimul Haque and assistant professor Sourav Sutar have allegedly looted government funds during the autocratic Awami League regime. They have been declared unwanted on campus and in the hospital. In addition, intern doctors Mohsin Bibha, Arifuzzaman Emon, Sadman Baki Sabab, Pritam Debnath, Arghya Biswas and Asiful Islam have been declared unwanted. The students were demanding the maximum punishment against them.

Sources said that after this ultimatum, the students, who were angry that no action was taken against the accused doctors, put Director Md. Saiful Islam under pressure to resign voluntarily. When the students' movement took a strong shape, Saiful Islam resigned from the post of director on September 29 and left the chair. However, in this case too, he resorted to deception, he signed a white paper and wrote 'resignation', but later it was officially revealed that the director had gone on leave.

While he was on leave, he was transferred to the Directorate of Health and made OSD and Director Dr. HM Saiful Islam was ordered to transfer to a new place of work within the next two working days. On October 9, a notification signed by Md. Abu Raihan Dolan, Senior Assistant Secretary of the Health Services Division, Part-2 Unit of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, confirmed the matter of OSD to Dr. Saiful Islam.

Hospital sources said that after Saiful Islam was removed from the post of director, Deputy Director Dr. SM Moniruzzaman Shaheen was given the responsibility as acting director. After that, the issue of giving the responsibility of an army officer to run the Hospital dominated the heated discussion in Barishal. Specially since the anti-discrimination student movement conveyed the same demand to the interim government, the issue of appointing army officers became more intense.

Although the government issued a notification in this regard on the night of November 7, there was some delay in the joining of the new director, Brigadier General AKM Moshiul Munir of the army.

Reliable sources said that Shebachim Hospital, the largest medical service center in the southern region, has been facing a shortage of space to accommodate patients for a long time. Meanwhile, on April 13, 2021, Dr. HM Saiful Islam, Deputy Director of the Barisal Institute of Health Technology, joined Shebachim as the director. And in the last three years, he illegally allocated half of the ground floor of the hospital's new building to a private bank by taking various financial benefits along with various misdeeds. Although there are often whispers among the officials and employees about the irregular payment of rent for a part of the government hospital, many are now speaking out publicly about the issue.

The employees have complained that the salaries or transactions of any government employee of the hospital are not processed in that bank. Although the salaries of some employees hired on a contractual basis are supposed to be paid there. Irregularities are also being committed in their appointments. Most of the people whom Dr. HM Saiful Islam has appointed on a contractual basis in the last few years live in his own upazila of Barisal, Agailjhara.