Tk 1.68 Crore Oxygen Plant Lies Idle for Two Years at Thakurgaon Hospital

An oxygen plant installed at Thakurgaon General Hospital at a cost of Tk 1.68 crore has been lying idle for a long time. Set up in 2022, it served patients for three years, but a lack of technical staff and maintenance has now shut down this vital service. Valuable machinery is deteriorating on one side, while on the other there is growing uncertainty over alternative oxygen supplies in emergencies.

The plant was installed to produce and purify oxygen from natural air and supply it through pipelines to the hospital's wards. Hospital authorities say it cannot be kept running without skilled operators and regular maintenance.

According to hospital and contractor sources, the plant was installed by Messrs Al-Madina Traders in early 2022 under a contract with the Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD), financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Under the contract, the plant was kept operational for the first three years by the contracting firm's own engineers and technicians. But after the political changeover in 2024, the contractor's technical staff stopped coming. At one stage the plant shut down, and it has not been restarted since.

Rakibul Alam Choyon, the hospital's then resident medical officer, said the plant was operated around 2022 under the special supervision of the NSI and through personnel linked to it. It had not arrived through the Directorate General of Health Services' regular requisition process; at the time it was run by the contractor and the supervising agency's own people.

He added that after the political and administrative context changed in 2024, those technicians stopped coming altogether. According to him, the machine has no major complex fault, but running it safely requires at least three to four skilled operators across three shifts — and the hospital has no technician of its own.

He also warned that running the machine without regular supervision and logbook maintenance carries risks of short circuits, fire and even a serious explosion. The health ministry and the health directorate have been informed in writing about the shutdown, and a reminder has been sent requesting action, but no solution has come yet.

Omar Faruk, a representative of the contractor Messrs Al-Madina Traders, said that under the CMSD contract the plant was kept running by their own technicians during the three-year warranty period. Three hospital staff members were also trained to operate it. At the end of the term, a CMSD verification team inspected the plant on site, found everything satisfactory, and released the firm's 10 percent performance guarantee money.

According to Omar Faruk, since the contract has ended, full responsibility for operating and maintaining the plant now rests with the government offices and the hospital authorities.

Hospital sources said that after the plant had been shut for about a month, the hospital's then superintendent, Sirajul Islam, sent a letter to the contractor on 31 August 2024 urging action. Even after that, no initiative was taken to restart the plant.

Abdul Latif, Thakurgaon district president of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SUJAN), said alternative support must always be available in emergency care. If the main line stops for any reason, this natural oxygen plant could have been the only fallback, and it now lies inoperative. Ultimately it is state property, he said, and instead of leaving it idle the health directorate should quickly post technicians here on deputation and make the crore-taka plant functional so local people can benefit.

All in all, it remains uncertain when this plant, worth more than Tk 1.5 crore, will run again. Until a decision is made to appoint technicians or post them on deputation, patients in Thakurgaon will have to depend on alternative arrangements for emergency oxygen.