July uprising injured vow to continue protest at NITOR

A group of protesters who were injured during the July mass uprising and are now undergoing treatment, were blocking the road in front of the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) till midnight, demanding proper treatment.
They also demanded quick release of funds from the July Smriti Foundation for all the victims.
The protests began after Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum went to the hospital to visit them. She had to leave NITOR in a different vehicle after her car was blocked.
Accompanied by British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke, she went there around 11:30am.
When the two were leaving the hospital after talking to a few patients, the other injured victims gathered outside and blocked the adviser’s car on the hospital premises, witnesses said.
Some lay in front of the vehicle, while others climbed onto it.
The protocol officers pushed them away during the protests, they alleged.
In response to the situation, the health adviser left in another vehicle. The UK high commissioner also had to leave the hospital in a different car.
The injured protesters – some with bandages on their hands, legs or eyes and others in wheelchairs or with crutches – then left the hospital and blocked the adjacent road.
They declared they would not clear the road until the health adviser met everyone.
They also expressed frustration over not receiving the promised compensation of Tk 100,000 each.
Confirming the incident, Ziaul Haque, additional deputy commissioner of Tejgaon Division Police, said the adviser had left safely and her car was not damaged.
As of filing this report around 1:00am today, the protesters were still on the road.
Around 10:30pm, Hasnat Abdullah, convenor of the Anti-Discrimination Students’ Movement, which spearheaded the July uprising, and Mir Mahbubur Rahman Snigdho, general secretary of the July Smriti Foundation and brother of slain student protester Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdho, went to the spot to talk to the protesters.
They said they found many of the injured were not protesters of the movement and were Awami League supporters, adding that the foundation was working to verify and crosscheck the list properly and this was why many of the victims did not yet receive their compensation.
Hasnat mentioned that the health adviser is a cancer patient, and her newly appointed assistant Prof Sayedur Rahman, former BSMMU vice chancellor, may be able to visit instead.
However, the protesters said they will remain on the street, whether they lose another limb or not, until the advisers come back and talk to them all, and ensure proper treatment and the disbursement of funds.
One protester said he wants the resignation of the health adviser.
Meanwhile, the hospital authorities said those injured in the July uprising were being given the highest priority. Special wards and food have been designated for them.
Shahidul Islam, 19, a protester who was wounded by bullets and is now being treated on the second floor of the hospital, said the adviser and others arrived at the hospital and went to the third floor, where they talked to only a few of the injured.
“There are at least 42 of us receiving treatment on the second floor but the adviser was leaving the hospital without visiting us.”
Upon hearing the news, the other injured July protesters, who are being treated at nearby hospitals, joined the protests as well.
At one stage, military personnel stationed near the hospital requested them to return to the hospital.
However, Md Masum, seated in a wheelchair, said they would not leave until the health adviser returned to meet them. “After three long months, she finally comes here but chooses to neglect us.”
Expressing his grievances, Masum said, “She became an adviser over our blood. Many of us are yet to receive the promised compensation from the July Foundation.”
Al Miraj, an MBA student of IUBAT, was injured in both eyes while protesting in Kakrail on the afternoon of July 19.
He has since been receiving treatment at the National Institute of Ophthalmology & Hospital. “Doctors have said the treatment for my right eye is not available in the country. We took to the street to demand better treatment.”
Currently, 84 injured protesters from the uprising are undergoing treatment at NITOR. Two separate wards are dedicated for the them — one in level-2 and another in level-3, according to hospital officials.
Till date, 21 people have had their hands and legs amputated, while six patients have died.
Shahin Alam, a ninth-grader who was injured on August 5, and receiving treatment at NITOR, was also protesting yesterday.
“I was shot in the left leg and underwent four surgeries in NITOR. The doctor told me to come back after nine months. I don’t think I’m getting proper treatment here.”
Md Badiuzzaman, deputy director of NITOR, said, medical teams from China and Thailand visited them, and there is a team from the UK who are working to assess their treatment. Until yesterday, 15 people have undergone surgeries.
“Moreover, the foreign medical teams have expressed a great deal of satisfaction with our medical procedures. But it will take a long time for the patients’ condition to improve, especially those with nerve injuries … Any claims of us not giving proper treatment are false.”
Regarding those who did not receive compensation from July Foundation, he said, “As far as we know, there were some problems with papers of some of the patients, which is why they haven’t received the money yet.”