The stories of the Khulna Children’s Hospital, lying unused for more than a year, and the Magura sub jail, idle for an astonishing four decades, once again brings to light our inability to implement potential project plans and ensure their completion.
Indeed, these are but just two examples of a distressing pattern of wasted public resources in Bangladesh. In a country like ours where the needs of the people are almost never met, and with our resources already stretched thin, such neglect is not just shameful but a betrayal of public trust.
The Khulna Children’s Hospital, built at an immense cost of Tk 114 to serve thousands of vulnerable children, remains shuttered. This facility could have been a lifeline in a region still struggling with inadequate healthcare infrastructure. Instead, it stands as a monument to mismanagement, a reminder that investments mean little without timely execution and accountability. Children who should be receiving urgent care are the ones most harmed, denied the services that this hospital should provide. Equally troubling is the sub-jail, an infrastructure project completed decades ago but never put to use nor repurposed for other facilities that could have benefitted the people of that area.
Such waste is emblematic of our all-too-familiar systemic failure -- of poor planning, insufficient oversight, and a lack of political will to see projects through to completion.
For a country that is striving to rise amid economic challenges and social demands, this pattern of squandered resources is deeply harmful. The cost of these unfinished projects cannot be measured merely in money, even though that amount too stands at hundreds if not thousands of crore. However, the greater cost is measured in missed opportunities, degraded public trust, and the continued suffering of our citizens.
Moving forward, greater accountability is essential, ensuring public funds result in tangible benefits rather than empty promises. Our future depends on it.
