Zahir can’t tell 8-yr-old kid his mother, sister are no more

Fighting for life at Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RMCH), the boy with severe head injury is one of the victims of last Sunday's tornado in Gaibandha and Rangpur.

Zahedul's mother and two other members of the family from Kuthipara in Sadullahpur upazila were killed in the tornado that lashed four upazilas of the two districts.

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His father Zahir did not let his only surviving son know that his mother had left them for good.

"I rushed to the hospital taking Zahedul, leaving behind the dead bodies of my wife, another son Zoynal and my brother Alamgir. I I still do not know anything about their burial," Zahir said as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I know they are already dead. So, I am trying to save Zahedul. But I am now losing hope as doctors seldom come to see my son."

RMCH doctors prescribed medicines and asked him to buy those from outside.

" I am too poor to buy medicine," he lamented while talking to this correspondent yesterday.

Doctors said the boy needs surgery but RMCH lacks equipment and facilities for this.

One doctor seeking anonymity said Minister for Food and Disaster Management Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf and State Minister for Housing and Public Works Alamgir Kabir visited Zahedul and other tornado victims at the hospital on Thursday and asked the hospital authorities to ensure proper treatment of the child.

While visiting the hospital on Tuesday, the deputy minister for food and disaster management also gave similar instructions but to no effect.