At least 26 patients are at risk of losing their complete vision in both eyes from injuries they sustained in violence during the movement spearheaded by the Student Movement Against Discrimination platform that ousted the long-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina from power on August 5.
Another 422 patients undergoing treatment at two major healthcare facilities, National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital and Dhaka Medical College Hospital, are also at risk of losing their vision in one eye, as per the latest information.
According to officials of the hospitals in the capital,聽 a total of 684 patients who were injured in violence during the movement have been undergoing treatment at the hospitals.
All the victims are gun injured and aged between 20 years and 35 years, the officials added.
Of them, 33 sustained injuries to both eyes and the rest to one eye.
Of them, 579 patients had been under treatment at the NIO&H and the rest 105 at the DMCH since July 17.
鈥榃e are not sure about anything still now, but the number of people with visual impairment might increase,鈥� said NIO&H director professor Khair Ahmed Choudhury.
Eye specialists said that people generally lost their vision in the long-term from their injuries in cornea, retina and eye nerves. Most of the patients have the same injuries.
Several victims alleged that the security forces including Bangladesh police, the Rapid Action Battalion, the Border Guard Bangladesh and the Ansars opened fire at close range targeting heads and chests as they demonstrated on the roads across the country.
About 100 patients were admitted to the hospital for further treatment mainly for surgery.
鈥榃e are removing pellets from their eyes one after another. Once we conduct surgery in an eye, we need several days for next surgery,鈥� said Khair Ahmed Choudhury.
The 200-bed specialised hospital for eye treatment has been managing dedicated units for the victims and providing them with聽 healthcare free of cost.
The NIO&H data showed that out of the 579 patients 156 were students and the rest were people from different walks of life, including 21 females.
Besides the two major healthcare facilities, many other patients were seen undergoing treatment at different hospitals in Dhaka and other districts as well.
Many victims said that though the hospital provided free treatment but they had to expend a significant amount of money for attendants of the injured.
Md Forhad Hossain, younger sibling of Omar Faruq, a student of Bogura Polytechnic Institute who sustained shotgun injuries to both of his eyes, said that they had to maintain expenses of keeping three persons on average as attendants because his brother could not see anything.
鈥榃e had to spend Tk 70,000 from ourselves for the treatment,鈥� he said, adding that his farmer father managed the money borrowing money from their relatives.
On August 4, Faruq was injured in a clash with Ansar members in front of the Shafipur Ansar Academy in Gazipur.
Next day, he was referred from the Sheikh Fazilatunnessa Mujib Memorial KPJ Specialised Hospital for better treatment.
鈥榃e had no option but to hire an ambulance spending Tk 15,000 to travel to this eye hospital,鈥� he said, adding that the hospital provides meal for patients and an attendant for each patient but the rest of the attendants have to take meals from outside.
Travel cost from Bogura to Dhaka also is an issue for them, Faruq added.
He said that some individuals and institutions came forward to support them.
Twenty-one year old Omar Faruq, the eldest son of the family, said that he was not seeing any hope to return to normal life as both of his eyes were injured by pellets.
Over 10 pellets were removed from his eyes and several others would be removed soon.
鈥業 am not an activist of any political party. I joined the protests because what was happening here was unacceptable to any conscious persons,鈥� he said, adding, 鈥業 am happy. Now people started to see hopes.鈥�
DMCH鈥檚 ophthalmology department head professor Mostak Ahmed said that a total of 105 patients received treatment from the hospital.
Of them, all seven who sustained injuries to both eyes are at risk of losing their vision completely while 20 others are at risk of losing vision in one eye, he added.
Physicians said that several patients had lost their vision as they have very low perception of light and some others only could see light and some could count fingers or sense hand movements but could not read words.
