Hundreds of students under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Students’ Movement laid siege to the Naogaon 250-bed General Sadar Hospital on Tuesday, protesting against alleged irregularities, corruption and mismanagement.
The protest began around 12:00pm as students gathered on the hospital premises, demanding an immediate discussion with the authorities to address their concerns.
When their call for dialogue was ignored, the protesters locked the office of Zahid Nazrul Chowdhury, the hospital superintendent.
According to the students, they have been raising concerns about irregularities at the hospital since August 5 in the past year.
Their demands include improving medical services, preventing the black-market sale of medicines, ensuring doctors fulfill their duties, stopping mistreatment and harassment of patients and curbing the influence of pharmaceutical company representatives within the hospital.
Fazle Rabbi, a protester, alleged that the hospital suffers from severe mismanagement, with on-duty doctors frequently absent or attending patients at private clinics instead.
During the demonstration, students caught a man red-handed selling medicines on the black market, further highlighting their concerns.
‘We have repeatedly informed the authorities about these issues, but they have taken no action. As a result, patients continue to suffer, forcing us to lock the superintendent’s office,’ said Rabbi.
Hasib Chowdhury, another protester, warned that the office would remain locked until concrete steps are taken to resolve these issues.
He urged on-duty physicians to continue their medical services and cautioned that any movement by doctors without addressing these concerns would be resisted.
Despite multiple attempts, Zahid Nazrul Chowdhury could not be reached for comment.