The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the third day of continuous eviction drives has evicted illegal establishments in front of the emergency gate of Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday.
The drive was carried out in presence of Executive Magistrate of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mohammad Atul Mondol, top officials of the health ministry, Directorate General of Health Services and the DMCH, and law enforcers as well.
The businessmen, especially makeshift hotel owners, removed their shops on their own before the evection team removed them. The evection team also removed five illegally established permanent shops at the emergency gate footpath.
Mohammad Atul Mandal told the Dhaka Tribune that during the eviction, they also seized some instruments and handed over to the law enforcers.
A day before the drive, the DSCC authorities had issued a notice asking the owners of illegal establishments to leave the area unoccupied.
Brig Gen Mostafizur Rahman, director of the DMCH, told the Dhaka Tribune the illegal establishments had been polluting the hospital’s entrance environment.
Earlier on the first day of the continuous drive, the Dhaka North City Corporation evicted around 300 illegal establishments at Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital, National Heart Institute, National Institute of Traumatology and National Institute of Eye Science Hospital were evicted. On the second day, the drive was carried out in Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital area.
Directed by Health Minister Mohammed Nasim, the ministry made the decision to conduct the eviction drive at public hospitals on March 3.
Meanwhile, at a meeting earlier among the health minister, the FBCCI and Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industry, businessmen leaders had assured the government that they would provide maximum support to enrich the beauty of all the government hospitals in Dhaka.
Addressing the meeting, Nasim said they had already started evection to take possessions back on government lands from grabbers and they would make gardens or other beautification works to give it a permanent look.
Nasim also urged the private organisations to come forward to bring back quality based hospital atmosphere by increasing its beautification which would be extended to district levels after the capital.