Due to the protracted tender process, patients of Pabna Mental Hospital are being fed on loan for more than four months now.
Currently, the authorities fear that the supply of food and medicine will be stopped at any time as the hospital owes about Tk70 lakh to the creditors.
According to the government hospitals' rule, the allotment of food for one patient is Tk125 per meal. However, the Pabna Mental Hospital has to provide meals four times in the same allocation. And after deducting the VAT tax from that money the amount is only Tk105.
The contractor entitled Rose Enterprise allegedly sued the tender for the supply of food and medicine to the residential patients of Pabna Mental Hospital in the current fiscal year under the pretence of failing to specify the names of various commodities. In this case, the court disallowed the tendering process.
The supply of food and medicine is still in question, though, two months after the case was dismissed because of the failure to renew tenders. In light of this reality, the authorities have made the decision to limit hospital admissions to two days every week.
Dhaka TribuneRelated sources also said that the hospital authorities have been purchasing leftover food for the patients by making a committee since last July.
Dr Ratan Roy, the hospital's director, stated: "Around Tk40 lakh was borrowed for three months to purchase food. There was uncertainty about receiving the permission of this money at the moment, thus this decision was made. The following day, the directive was revoked by the ministry, though.”
He stated in regards to the matter: “The contracting company may have brought this complaint out of a fear of not receiving the work owing to the initiative of e-tendering by modifying the tender process of the mental hospital."
Acting steward of the hospital Atoar Rahman said: “No patient of the mental hospital has the opportunity to get outside food. It is very difficult to manage a four-course meal at Tk105. Still we try to give nutritious food.”
Going to the hospital kitchen, it can be seen that a list is hung with the daily amount of nutritious foods. However, the cooks said that the supply of high-priced fish and beef has been stopped for the past few months. Fish, broiler chicken and small amount of vegetables are being offered on week days to adjust the price.
However, the relatives of the patients said that most of these patients cannot eat because of the poor quality.
The brother of a patient said: “My brother cannot eat the food served in the hospital. It is not possible to buy food from outside even if you want to. As a result, he has become physically weak.”
Dr Shafkat Wahid, the current director of Pabna Mental Hospital, said that in the current allocation, the food cost of about 500 resident patients of the hospital is Tk16 lakh per month.
Dhaka Tribune“We are trying to maintain food supply even if the quality of food is low to adjust prices.”
Investigations revealed that the same company, run by three brothers by the names of HM Arefin, HM Faisal, and HM Rezaul, has been providing meals to the Pabna Mental Hospital for many years. They allegedly did not consider the claims of irregularities made against them, according to several sources.
“We are making efforts to feed the mental hospital's patients in accordance with the regulations,” stated HM Rezaul.
While this was going on, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) recently initiated a lawsuit against the three businesses that frequently won contracts at Pabna Mental Hospital by offering the lowest price.
The three companies that won the contract by tendering "at a higher price than the market price," according to ACC sources, stole roughly Tk88 lakh in 2017–18 by supplying food.
Regarding the case, Rezaul said: “I worked according to the rules. The case will be dealt with legally.”
Hospital Director Shafqat Wahid said: "We have requested the higher authorities for a quick solution."
