United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based newspaper Khaleej Times has appreciated Bashundhara Group’s noble initiative to turn its business centre into a 5,000-bed hospital for corona patients in Dhaka.
The renowned media on Sunday termed Bashundhara Group ‘the largest diversified industrial conglomerate in Bangladesh’ as the company will turn its four convention centres of the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in Dhaka into the temporary hospital.
Talking to Khaleej Times, Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan said: “With the global outbreak of the deadly coronavirus, it is important for private sector to join hands with the government and intensify efforts to overcome the crisis.”
“We are offering all our facilities and resources at our proposal at the International Convention City Bashundhara to make makeshift hospitals to test and treat patients so that this could be contained.”
“So far, Bangladesh has showed a tremendous success in fighting the virus with a minimum infection rate and casualty. However, it is important to scale up capacity so that the country remains better prepared for the rise in infection rate.”
He added: “Despite our best hopes and efforts, the crisis might not subside in a matter of days or weeks. Unless we prepare ourselves and guard our country, this virus might penetrate in some form or shape in our country unless it is completely eliminated from every nook and corner of the world. This might be a very difficult task and might take more than months.”
Bashundhara Group, which has business operations in the Gulf region, has also donated Tk 100 million to the Bangladesh government to fight the deadly virus.
Bashundhara Group Managing Director Sayem Sobhan Anvir handed over a cheque for Tk 100 million to Dr Ahmed Kaikaus, principal secretary to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Anvir said: “This is just a token of our support to the efforts of Bangladesh government in combating the crisis and we want to widen our scope of partnership in this fight by opening up all our resources to set up a 5,000-bed hospital that will play a crucial role in saving valuable lives.
“As a private sector business group, we are proud to support our people and I take this opportunity to congratulate the government and the people of Bangladesh for a very low infection rate so far. However, with coronavirus, one can’t predict how things might turn in the coming weeks and months. It is important to be prepared and be ready, than be sorry.”