Engineer does health officer’s job for five years amid manpower crisis in Cumilla city

Cumilla City Corporation has been operating with a severe manpower shortage, forcing an engineer to carry out the duties of health officer for the past five years as the post remains vacant.

The corporation, established in 2011 with 220 staff, now runs with just 67 employees against an official strength of 242. This shortfall has left over two-thirds of the posts empty, affecting essential services for more than 1.2 million residents across 27 wards.

Newly appointed administrator Md Shah Alam said the crisis had been reported to the ministry. “We are trying our best to resolve the shortage within two months,” he added.

The region’s first administrative institution was the Cumilla Municipality, founded in the mid-18th century. In 2011, the Cumilla Sadar and Sadar South municipalities were merged to form the city corporation.

Despite three elected mayors and several interim administrators since then, the shortage has never been resolved. Key posts such as chief executive officer, chief engineer, revenue officer, executive magistrate, and urban planner have remained vacant for long stretches.

The shortage has caused mounting hardship for citizens and added mental pressure on existing officials, many of whom juggle multiple portfolios.

At the third and fourth-class levels, staff have been hired on master rolls, while field operations rely on outsourced workers. Employees say this has doubled their workload.

A visit to the corporation revealed that many officers are handling two or three positions at the same time.

Executive Engineer Abu Sayem Bhuiyan has been handling the routine duties of the chief engineer while also acting as health officer. In addition, he is serving as a project director.

“I have been carrying out two extra posts for five years. This is not acceptable. A doctor should oversee health services, but despite repeated requests, we have not been given staff for this role,” Sayem said.

He noted that the shortage is not visible to outsiders. “A health officer could have supervised all health centres under the corporation. Similarly, eight sub-assistant engineer posts are vacant. If filled, they could have monitored illegal structures built in violation of rules.

“This is how the lack of manpower has created crises across all sectors,” he added.