Floating hospital begins services in coastal Paikgachha

PAIKGACHHA, KHULNA, Nov 3:  A floating hospital has begun providing medical services to disadvantaged people in Paikgachha Upazila of Khulna, offering healthcare for three months to residents of the coastal areas.

The hospital, supported by Saudi Arabia and operated by the Bangladesh government, was inaugurated on Monday on the Shibsa River near Garuikhali, close to the Sundarban.

Lawmaker Alhaj Maulana Abul Kalam Azad attended the programme as the chief guest and formally inaugurated the hospital's medical services.

Among those present were Dr Sayem, hospital administrator Shah Alam, project manager Firoz Akter, Khulna district Jamaat-e-Islami executive committee member Maulana Aminul Islam, upazila Jamaat Naeb-e-Ameer Maulana GM Bulbul Ahmed, its secretary Maulana Altaf Hossain, Garuikhali Union Parishad Chairman GM Abdus Salam Keru, union Jamaat Ameer Kamrul Islam and Anisur Rahman, headteacher and general secretary of the upazila secondary teachers' association.

Hospital authorities said the vessel would remain stationed on the Shibsa River for three months, providing medical services to poor and underprivileged people in Garuikhali and nearby areas.

Speaking at the inauguration, MP Abul Kalam Azad said the floating hospital would play an important role in bringing healthcare to people who have long faced difficulties accessing medical services in the coastal region.