Over 1,000 killed during mass uprising, 400 blinded

Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum yesterday said more than 1,000 people were killed and over 400 blinded during the student-led mass uprising.
The adviser spoke about protest casualties while briefing reporters after visiting the Central Police Hospital in Rajarbagh.
The Human Rights Support Society on August 21 said it had received information on the deaths of 819 people during the protests from the victims’ families, hospitals, witnesses, and national dailies.
According to a primary report of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published on August 16, as many as 650 people were killed in Bangladesh during the student-led protests between July 16 and August 11.
Adviser Nurjahan said numerous injured policemen were undergoing treatment at the police hospital, many with injuries to the leg and head, but they were recovering well. An injured student coordinator was also receiving treatment at the hospital.
Nurjahan spoke to injured police officers in the hospital’s surgery department and enquired about their conditions.
The health adviser also highlighted the government’s efforts to provide specialised care for those blinded during the uprising. Many victims lost one or both eyes, she said
The adviser said the government sent a list of patients with eye injuries to the Sheba Foundation, a US-based organisation. It agreed to send doctors to Bangladesh as soon as possible, she said.
The facilities where the victims will be treated include the Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute and Hospital, the National Institute of Ophthalmology & Hospital (NIOH), and the Chittagong Eye Infirmary and Training Complex, according to the adviser.
She said many people sustained severe leg injuries, with some requiring amputations.
“We are in talks with various donor agencies, including the World Bank, to bring in a team of doctors from abroad for advanced treatment,”  the adviser said.