Staff Correspondent, Dhaka
A meeting between a delegation of those injured in the July-August mass uprising and six advisers began on Thursday afternoon in the conference room of the Health Ministry at the Secretariat, where the first group presented its demands.
The meeting, chaired by Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum, also included Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter, Posts, Telecommunications and IT Adviser Nahid Islam, Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, Social Welfare Adviser Sharmeen S Murshid, Adviser Mahfuj Alam, and Chief Adviser's Special Assistant on Health Matters Md Sayedur Rahman.
In the meeting, the injured presented seven demands:
- Injured protesters of the mass uprising must receive treatment of the same quality as ministers or advisers would receive if they were injured
- Medical expenses must be reimbursed for those who had to cover their costs after being injured in the uprising
- A lifetime monthly allowance and rehabilitation program should be set up for the families of martyrs and injured fighters, extended to one generation through an honour card system
- A museum, named the Martyrs’ and Injured Fighters’ Memorial Foundation, should be established, with an annual mass signature campaign held from July 1 to August 5 in memory of the martyrs
- An impartial investigation committee should be formed to examine the medical files of those who died or lost limbs and legal action must be taken against any doctors or medical institutions found to have been negligent
- Swift punishment of the mass-killing perpetrators from the Awami League and their affiliates should be ensured, and these organizations should be banned
- For future state reform, the opinions of martyrs' family members and injured fighters from the 2024 mass uprising should be taken into account
Early on Thursday, Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul, Farida Akhter, Asif Mahmud, Mahfuj Alam, and Md Sayedur Rahman visited the injured protesting outside the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Nitor), commonly known as Pongu Hospital.
The injured protesters agreed to return to the hospital from the streets with assurances from the advisers regarding their demands.
Mahfuj assured them that they would hold a meeting at the Secretariat to discuss how the government can support the injured.
