Rotting garbage dump greets patients at Bangladesh health center

Hundreds of patients seeking care at the Prithimpassa Family Welfare Centre in Robirbazar, Moulvibazar, are instead met with a towering mound of rotting garbage just steps from the entrance. The foul stench emanating from the waste, which includes refuse from nearby hotels, has become a significant deterrent to seeking medical attention.

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Not from my illness alone, but from the overwhelming stench of garbage piled high beside the very building where I had gone for care.

Rahela Begum, who traveled from Muroichara, described her condition worsening not only from her illness but also from the overwhelming smell. Husna Begum, another patient, questioned how anyone could recover in such an environment, noting that the stench made waiting outside unbearable. Kamal Miah, accompanying his ailing mother, expressed dismay that the journey for treatment might be causing more harm than good due to the surrounding filth.

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We are already unwell when we come here. The smell makes us feel even worse. How can we get better in such an environment?

Residents say the problem has persisted for six to seven years, with no permanent solution implemented. They attribute the crisis to the absence of clearly demarcated boundaries for the government land on which the center stands. This lack of defined limits has led to encroachment and the open space being used as an informal dumping ground, especially since Robirbazar lacks a designated waste disposal site.

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We travel a long distance to get treatment here. But when we arrive, the filth makes us question whether coming is doing more harm than good.

Locals have repeatedly appealed to the administration to define the health center's boundaries, construct a boundary wall, prevent illegal encroachment, and remove the garbage. However, they report that no effective action has been taken to date, with no authority stepping in to claim responsibility for the worsening situation.

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We have repeatedly demanded that the administration define the boundaries of the health centre, build a boundary wall, prevent illegal encroachment and remove the garbage.