PM makes surprise visits to 13 locations; gives deadlines to improve cleanliness

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today (17 October) conducted surprise inspections at 13 locations across Dhaka, including hospitals, educational institutions and government residential quarters, to assess public services, cleanliness and management.

He gave Kuwait-Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital seven days to improve cleanliness and set a two-week deadline for authorities at Azimpur Government Officers' and Employees' Residential Quarters to ensure a liveable environment. 

He also ordered action against an associate professor at Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute, whom he found smoking inside his untidy room. The doctor was subsequently suspended.

The prime minister visited the locations between 9:10am and 1:41pm, speaking to officials, patients, students and residents, said his Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Shiplu.

At Kuwait-Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital, also known as Kuwait-Maitree Hospital, Tarique spoke to patients and inspected departments, including the intensive care unit and operating theatres, expressing dissatisfaction with the hospital's management and cleanliness.

At Azimpur government quarters, residents complained about the unhygienic environment and law and order situation. Tarique asked the authorities to address their concerns.

Other stops included Rajuk Uttara Model College, Mirpur Cantonment Public School and College, the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh, Government Bangla College, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka Residential Model College, Dhanmondi Government Boys' High School, Paikpara Staff Quarters and Kalabagan Staff Quarters.

He also visited a footpath cleared of hawkers in Mirpur-10 and spoke to pedestrians to assess whether the removal of encroachment had eased movement.

Urges youth to lead cleanliness, dengue prevention and tree planting

During visits to educational institutions, Tarique urged students to keep their homes, schools and neighbourhoods clean, saying government initiatives alone could not achieve the goal.

Addressing students at his former institution, Dhaka Residential Model College, he linked young people's role in the 2024 July Uprising to their responsibility to rebuild the country.

"You made the 2024 movement successful through the mass uprising. Was it done by a single party? Everyone worked together, did they not?" he said, urging students to help build a cleaner and greener Bangladesh.

Speaking to members of the Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) and Bangladesh Scouts, the prime minister called on young people to extend cleanliness activities beyond organised programmes and discourage indiscriminate waste disposal.

Tarique linked cleanliness to public health, citing shortages of doctors, nurses and medicines and stressing disease prevention to ease pressure on healthcare services. He urged people to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds and prevent water from accumulating around homes, schools and workplaces to curb dengue. He said the government was prioritising cleanliness drives every Saturday until November.

He also noted that dustbins installed across Dhaka and saplings planted by the two city corporations were being stolen.

Expressing concern over rising temperatures and worsening air pollution in Dhaka, Tarique cited population growth, construction and tree felling as factors behind the loss of greenery. He also referred to reports of hazardous lead pollution posing health risks, particularly to children.

The prime minister urged students to plant at least one tree on their birthdays and challenged youth and volunteer organisations to plant at least 100,000 trees nationwide, drawing on his previous tree-planting initiatives in Dhaka.

He stressed that public participation and awareness were essential to preventing disease, reducing pollution and building a cleaner, healthier Bangladesh.