Wife dies of cancer: after spending Tk 4 lakh on treatment, autorickshaw driver Basir returns to Cumilla with her body
At the National Cancer Research Institute and Hospital in Mohakhali, Dhaka, at 2pm on Wednesday, a body covered with an old kantha lay on a trolley in front of a Pubali Bank counter on the ground floor of the hospital building, its abdomen much swollen, amid doctors, nurses, staff, patients and relatives.
Standing beside it was Basir. His home is in Cumilla and he is an autorickshaw driver by profession. The body was that of his wife Rubi Akter, who had cancer.
Basir said he would take his wife's body home to Cumilla. He had rented an ambulance for this, at a fare of Tk 6,500. A short while later the body was loaded into the ambulance.
Before leaving for home, Basir said his wife's cancer was diagnosed about two months ago. He took her to doctors at various government and private hospitals in Cumilla and Dhaka. Moving from hospital to hospital, about Tk 4 lakh was spent on treatment including various tests.
When her physical condition worsened further, Basir brought his wife Rubi to the National Cancer Research Institute and Hospital in the capital two days ago and admitted her. He said Rubi passed away during that admission.
Basir had also rented a house in Mohakhali for his wife's treatment at the National Cancer Research Institute and Hospital. The daily rent of the house was Tk 500.
The Basir-Rubi couple has five children. The eldest is 24 years old and the youngest is 12. Basir said he left no effort untried to save his wife, but nothing worked. Now he has to return home with his wife's body.
