Despite being home to nearly 70,000 people, Char Asariadaha union located across the River Padma at Godagari upazila in Rajshahi has a state-run healthcare centre, but there are no doctors, nurses and medicine available at the facility and a lone pharmacist is serving the entire population.
As a result, residents of the remote char area are forced to cross the river to reach Rajshahi city or Godagari upazila headquarters for medical treatment even for common ailments like fever and infection or pregnancy-related complications, which costs them time and money.
There is no private healthcare facility in the area.
The union healthcare centre stands at the edge of an open field in a dire state. The building, surrounded by tall weeds and cracked walls, is visibly neglected and dilapidated. Inside, it is dark, unclean and poorly maintained. The only staff member is a pharmacist.
鈥楾here is supposed to be a medical officer, an assistant medical officer, a family welfare visitor, a pharmacist, a peon and a night guard. But except for me, all the posts are now vacant,鈥� said Ruhul Amin, the lone pharmacist at the centre.
He added that the health department had neither posted any doctors nor sent medicine to the facility in recent months. Family planning services have also been suspended for the past six months.
鈥楴o new medicine supplies have arrived since February. In every meeting, higher officials assured that medicine would arrive soon, but it did not happen. I couldn鈥檛 serve even 10 per cent of the population with what little I had,鈥� he said.
Ayesha Khatun, a resident of the union, said that she visited the healthcare centre twice, but returned empty-handed both the times.
鈥業f we catch a fever, we have to cross the river to reach Godagari upazila headquarters. There are no services at all at this so-called healthcare centre,鈥� she alleged.
Shakil Ahmed, a college student, said that they were being deprived of access to healthcare, which is their basic rights.
鈥楶eople in our char area are always left behind. We live far from education and healthcare,鈥� he said.
鈥榃hat鈥檚 the point of having a healthcare centre if it can鈥檛 serve us?鈥� he questioned.
Ashraful Islam Bhola, chairman of Char Asariadaha union, said that they had approached the district and upazila health departments multiple times with the request of making the union healthcare centre functional.
鈥楬owever, no action has been taken to address the issues related to staff and regular supply of medicine,鈥� he added.
Contacted, Rajshahi civil surgeon SIM Raziul Karim said that they were aware of the demand for a functional healthcare facility for the Char Asariadaha residents.
鈥楤ut the health department has no infrastructure there. So we can鈥檛 post doctors or send medicine there. The existing facility belongs to community welfare, which is responsible only for maternal health services,鈥� he said.
The civil surgeon said that they had already written to the health ministry, requesting that a proper healthcare facility be constructed at Char Asariadaha union.
鈥極nce the infrastructure is in place, we will assign doctors and ensure regular supply of medicine,鈥� he added.聽
