<i>Shortage of hospital supplies leaves burn patient begging </i>
A young housewife, with burn injuries on her chest, back, hands and legs as her gambler husband allegedly set her on fire, begs for money for treatment at Burn Unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Lying on a bedstead on the first floor verandah of the unit with 20 percent of her body burnt, Ambia Begum, 22, a cook at a brick kiln, extended her hands towards this correspondent around 2:15pm yesterday.
DMCH staff admitted that the unit has been recently facing a shortage of cream and bandage needed for burn patients. The unit Chief Coordinator Dr Samanta Lal Sen, however, said the supply shortage has been met.
While her mother looked for newcomers for help, Ambia said she had an altercation with her rickshaw puller husband Rezaul Karim on April 8 around 7:30pm when he asked her for Tk 1,000 as he gambled away what he earned.
She said she had Tk 1,000 from her weekly wage but needed it to buy a fan for her two-year-old baby girl.
The lights went out at one stage of the altercation and Rezaul lighted a lantern. She fell asleep but suddenly awoke to find her clothes on fire and saw Rezaul run out of the house at Amin Bazar Barodeshi area, Ambia said.
Sensing that her child was about to catch on fire, she threw her outside the house, injuring her. Neighbours rushed to her aide, doused the flames on her body and the house and admitted her to DMCH.
Locals caught Rezaul around midnight just as he sneaked into the house to steal the money, gave him a good beating and handed him over to police.
Officer-in-Charge Mahbubur Rahman of Savar Police Station said during interrogation, Rezaul denied the accusation of setting her on fire but admitted to the attempt to steal the money. Police produced Rezaul before a court that sent him to jail.
Ambia said her child was now with neighbours and no relative yet visited her at DMCH.
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