An abandoned community clinic in Amurkata completely collapsed on Monday morning, exposing years of severe infrastructural neglect and destroying over Tk 10 lakh worth of public property.
Fortunately, no casualties occurred. For the past two and a half years, local healthcare services have been forced to operate out of a nearby primary school classroom after the clinic building became too dangerous to occupy.
Built in 2011 by contractor Zaman Enterprise at a cost of Tk 2.2 million, the clinic was inexplicably constructed on concrete pillars over a hollowed plot next to a shrimp enclosure. It lacked basic road access or stable ground. Within a few years, the concrete began peeling, exposing rusted rods, and the access stairs became precariously unstable.
By mid-2023, the deterioration reached a critical level. Following safety warnings from local schoolteachers, assigned health worker Usha Mondal permanently relocated her operations to the Amurkata Government Primary School.
Mondal confirmed that Monday’s total collapse destroyed the clinic's remaining infrastructure, including a water pump, tank, electric meter, and internet router.
Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Ahsanara Ahmed Binte acknowledged the crisis. "I recently joined this post, but I am aware that several other community clinics are in similarly fragile conditions," she said. "They will be officially declared abandoned, and we will take immediate steps to secure renovations."
The collapse highlights critical failures in the oversight of rural infrastructure projects. Local residents are now urging the government to quickly rebuild a safe, dedicated healthcare facility so the primary school can reclaim its classroom.
