Doctor donates money to ‘Tree Man’ Abul Bajandar to buy land

After government bore all expenses for the treatment of his rare disease, a doctor has now donated money to the ‘Tree Man’, Abul Bajandar, to buy land where he can construct a house and do farming.

Dermatologist Prof MU Kabir Chowdhury on Tuesday handed over a cheque of Tk 600,000 to Bajandar, who is currently undergoing treatment for his skin disorder at the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Chowdhury is the principal of the capital’s Samorita Medical College and is also a member of the medical board constituted to treat Bajandar’s rare disease.

So far the ‘Tree Man’ has undergone five surgeries. Chowdhury played a key role in all these surgeries, said burn unit’s Coordinator Dr Samanta Lal Sen.

Sen said with the money landless Bajandar would be able to buy three kathas of land in his native Paikgachha in Khulna.

“Three kathas of land have already been booked,” he said.

Abul Bajandar’s father Manik Bajandar was also present when the cheque was handed over to his son.

Sen said it would take another six months for the treatment of Bajandar’s rare condition epidermodysplasia verruciformis, where tree-like warts grow from hands and feet.

After Bajandar was admitted to the DMCH on Jan 30 for treatment, Health Minister Mohammed Nasim announced the government’s decision to bear his treatment cost.