A new burn unit has opened at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) in Dhaka this morning.

Vice Chancellor Prof Pran Gopal Dutta inaugurated the 10-bed unit on the ground floor of the Cabin Block of the specialised hospital.

Pran Gopal said the unit is set up because such a facility is needed amid the present situation. “It will gradually be upgraded to 20 beds,” he said.

The unit has primarily 20 doctors, headed by Prof Saif Uddin, a surgical oncologist, and 30 nurses who will work in three shifts.

So far, at least 69 people have been killed -- 44 in arson attacks alone -- since the blockade led by BNP-led 20-party alliance began on January 6.