RAJUK, housing ministry should be more careful: Health minister

Health Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen has urged the capital’s development authority Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) and the housing and public works ministry to be more careful to avoid the repetition of Thursday’s terrible fire incident at a Bailey Road building in the capital that killed 46 innocent lives and critically injured 22 more.

He said this while talking to reporters after attending the 23rd International Scientific Seminar organised by Bangladesh Medicine Society at a hotel in the capital on Saturday (March 2).

Samanta Lal Sen said, "RAJUK and the housing ministry should be more careful as 46 lives were lost because of a small mistake. Nothing could be more tragic than this. I think a massive drive should be carried out against the building owners who do not ensure fire safety measures in their buildings. If these two entities become more careful, the fire incidents like Bailey Road will reduce drastically in the coming days.

In reply to a query regarding the irregularities in hospitals, the minister said, “There will be private hospitals in addition to government ones. But those hospitals need to abide by the rules and follow all the conditions. No private hospital will be allowed to run if irregularities are found,” he warned.

“If the doctors are good, the quality of service will increase and services will be guaranteed,” he added.

The minister also said, “The ongoing drives carried out by the Directorate General of Health Services will continue to stop all kinds of irregularities in hospitals. Forget about what happened in the past. From now on, no hospital will be allowed to operate with irregularities. The campaign against mismanagement and irregularities in hospitals will continue without any pause.”