Father Forced to Shuttle Between Daughter’s Burial and Wife’s Treatment

A ten-month-old girl has been killed and her mother critically injured after a boundary wall collapsed during an earthquake in Rupganj, Narayanganj, on Friday morning. The incident occurred at around 10:38am in Islamabagh of Golakanda Union.

According to family members, 30-year-old Kulsum Begum lived with her two daughters in a rented house beside her parents’ home, while her husband, Abdul Haque, stayed in Dhaka for work. When the earthquake struck, Kulsum was carrying her younger daughter, Fatema, and was heading towards her elder daughter, three-year-old Nujayba, who had been at her grandparents’ house. As she stepped outside, a tall, poorly built boundary wall suddenly gave way, crushing Kulsum and the baby beneath it.

Fatema died at the scene, her head severely injured by falling bricks. Kulsum and a neighbour, Jesmin Begum, who had also rushed out in panic, were rescued by locals and taken to hospital.

Kulsum’s condition is critical. Her family spent nearly nine hours transporting her from one hospital to another across Dhaka, but failed to obtain a bed in any government facility. After being turned away by Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the National Medical Institute and the National Institute of Neurosciences, she was finally taken to her husband’s rented flat in Shyambazar due to the lack of available treatment.

The tragedy left Abdul Haque torn between arranging medical care for his injured wife and attending his daughter’s burial. Fatema was laid to rest in the afternoon in the absence of both parents. Relatives say Kulsum still has not been informed of her daughter’s death.

Local authorities who inspected the scene stated that the collapsed wall had no reinforcing rods or pillars, making it extremely unsafe. The administration has provided financial assistance for the burial and pledged to ensure that Kulsum receives appropriate medical care.