Md Mafiz Uddin Sarker, Rangpur

In Rangpur's Gangachara Upazila, 140 posts have been vacant against 645 posts for a long time. Service activities for the common people are being hampered due to manpower shortage. Among the government offices in the upazila, the Upazila Nirbahi Office, Family Planning, Health Complex, Land, Rural Development, Local Government Engineering, Agriculture, Livestock, Public Health Engineering Department, Settlement and Education Office are in a severe state of manpower shortage.

In the Upazila Executive Office, 8 posts have been vacant against 20 posts for a long time. In the Upazila Rural Development Office, there are 9 vacant posts against 20 people. Besides, there are 6 vacant posts in the Upazila Agriculture Office, 5 each in the Local Government Engineering Department and Upazila Land Office, 3 in the Upazila Animal Resources Office, 2 each in the Education Office, Primary Education Office, Social Services Office, Public Health Engineering Office and Statistics Office, and 1 each in the Fisheries Office, Cooperative Office and Women and Children Affairs Office. Out of the 101 posts sanctioned in the Upazila Family Planning Office, 29 posts are vacant. As a result, birth control activities have come to a standstill in 10 unions including the Teesta River Char area of the Upazila.

This office does not have any field workers in the Teesta River Char area. Besides, 15 posts of family welfare assistants at the field level have been vacant for a long time. Upazila Family Planning Officer Dr. Rifat Ara Khan said that there is a severe manpower crisis in this office. There are no field workers in Joyram Ojha of Teesta Char in Laxmitari Union and Binbina Char in Kolkond Union. There is only one field worker in Marneya Union. 'Although pregnant women were supposed to be delivered in 9 centers, this activity is going on in 4 centers. Delivery activities are closed in the remaining 5 centers. The health complex is the only hope for health services for more than 3 lakh people in the upazila. Out of the 226 posts sanctioned there, 57 posts have been vacant for a long time. Of these, 8 are for doctors and 36 are vacant against 93 for class II posts. In addition, the only X-ray machine in the health complex has been closed for several years.

The generator machine is mostly closed due to lack of oil. Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr. Mohammad Alemul Bashar said that the issue of manpower shortage has been informed to the higher authorities. In this regard, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mahmud Hasan Mridha told reporters that "posts have been vacant in various government offices of the upazila for a long time. This information has been informed to the higher authorities, we hope that new manpower will be appointed soon."