Lalmonirhat Family Planning Three Upazilas Thousands of couples deprived of medical services

The only doctor in Lalmonirhat’s family planning three upazilas is Rashed Menon. He is also on a three-month leave. As a result, thousands of couples among the nearly one million people in the three upazilas are being severely deprived of medical services.

It is learned that there are five upazilas including Lalmonirhat Sadar, Aditmari, Kaliganj, Hatibandha and Patgram. Among them, Lalmonirhat has a 10-bed Mother and Child Welfare Center, Aditmari, Kaliganj Upazila, and the only medical officer in charge of family planning is Dr. Rashed Menon (MCH-FP). Nearly one million people live in the three upazilas under the jurisdiction of family planning.

Despite the shortage of doctors to ensure medical services for these people, the Deputy Director of Lalmonirhat Family Planning (DFP) Mozammel Haque granted medical officer Dr. Rashed Menon a three-month leave for the current year (from April 1 to June 30) citing family difficulties. However, instead of the medical officer, two non-medical personnel were given the responsibility illegally. Memorandum No. 59.11.5200.000.18.003.26.123/1(9), dated 25-03-26.

Meanwhile, an office order issued by the Directorate General of Health Services said that the leave (earned leave and casual leave) of all levels of doctors, officials and employees working in health institutions is hereby suspended/cancelled. The decision to suspend the leave was taken to ensure uninterrupted medical services during the emergency and to strengthen the measles vaccination program.  Dr. Rashed Menon’s leave has not been suspended yet, defying the order of the Health Department, Lalmonirhat Family Planning Deputy Director (Retd) Mozammel Haque.

According to sources from the Lalmonirhat Upazila Family Planning Office, earlier an average of 50 patients used to come every day. Now that number has come down to 10-15. Many are returning home angry after not getting medical services. Because there is no medical officer. Dr. Rashed Menon is taking a three-month leave and is doing a Nose, Ear and Throat (DLO) course at Rangpur Medical College Hospital. Those in charge of the medical officer in his place are not performing their duties properly. Moreover, they are not medical. As a result, currently, women and men in the three upazilas are not getting the desired services like birth control methods, types and doses of birth control pills, condoms, injections, IUDs or copper tubes, cesarean sections, male and female sterilization-tubectomy/ligation.  As a result, thousands of couples, including pregnant mothers and adolescents, are being deprived of medical services among the nearly one million people in the three upazilas. As a result, the fear of uncontrolled pregnancies and population growth is increasing.

Khadija Khanam, a pregnant woman and wife of a van driver in Lalmonirhat city, said, “My due date has come. For this, I come to the mother and child welfare center to see a doctor, but I can’t see anyone. Poor people like me would have benefited so much. If only there were a regular doctor here. I have been coming to this maternal health center for some time and have been returning.

Rahima Khatun, who came to Aditmari Upazila for family planning treatment, said, “Patients come to the health center every day. Out of these, more are female patients. Male patients also come for general treatment. In addition, more medical services are provided to children and pregnant women. There has been no doctor here for a long time, so I have been returning home.”

Health experts say that to ensure uninterrupted medical services during the emergency, the leave (earned leave and casual leave) of all doctors, officials and health workers working in health institutions has been suspended/cancelled. Despite this, Dr. Rashed Menon is spending time on leave to pursue a higher degree. The ministry, not the deputy director, will allow him to attend his course. In such cases, if there is disruption in government work or manpower shortage, the deputy director cannot grant such a long earned leave. He has acted arbitrarily by secretly taking unethical benefits by showing the thumbs up to the ministry. However, according to health rules, leave can usually be canceled or suspended by a special order of the authority.

In this regard, Medical Officer (MCH-FP) Dr. Rashed Menon said, “I am not obliged to tell you why I took leave. My office knows.”

In this regard, Lalmonirhat Family Planning Deputy Director (A/C) Mozammal Haque said, “Dr. Rashed Menon gets leave as per the rules. Leave is his right. Therefore, he has been given three months of leave. It is not my responsibility to see whether he takes the leave and does the course or not.”