The Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute is yet to start operation as power lines have not been connected almost three months after it was opened.
The institute named after the prime minister is located next to the Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover in Dhaka’s Chankharpool area and adjacent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Dhaka Power Distribution Company, DPDC, has blamed non-cooperative attitude of Dhaka South City Corporation, DSCC, for not getting the power line.
DSCC chief executive Mostafizur Rahman said, “We will take initiative to resolve the matter through dialogue.”
It’s believed that to bring the electric line, 2.16 km road needs to be cut and the bone of contention between City Corporation and DPDC is the cost of the road cutting.
DPDC has said that the city corporation has given a demand note mentioning a rate which is eight times more than the actual cost plus a huge deposit.
The coordinator of the institute, Dr. Samanta Lal Sen, says: “plenty of top quality instruments are being imported from the USA and Germany but the main impediment is the power connection.”
A memorandum of understanding between DPDC and city corporation is essential, he added.
The Sheikh Hasina National Burn Institute has been constructed at a cost of Tk. 912 crore.
It has 500 beds, 50 intensive care units and 12 operating theatres. A burn unit, a plastic surgery unit and an academic building will occupy the three blocks of the building.
Process is already underway to procure Tk. 300 crore worth of equipment.
In 1986, a burn unit was opened at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital with only six beds. Later, the number of beds increased to 50 in 2013.
The importance of the burn unit came into focus after the death of 127 people in a severe fire incident in Dhaka’s Nimtoli area in 2010. After the incident, more than 250 beds were added with the previous 50 beds.
The health ministry decided to name the institute after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in recognition of her devotion to development of the burn and plastic surgery healthcare system.
On Apr 6, 2016, Hasina inaugurated the construction work by laying the foundation stone for the institute and opened it on Oct 24 last year.
The burn and plastic surgery institute was constructed at an estimated cost of Tk 5.34 billion on 1.76 acres of land under the supervision of the Bangladesh Army.