80% of Ctg private hospitals lack parking; Development Authority sets one-month deadline
CDA officials said several institutions had obtained approval for residential buildings but were operating hospitals, diagnostic centres or educational institutions instead.
Around 80% of private hospitals in Chattogram lack dedicated parking facilities, while many private schools, colleges and universities are operating without complying with approved building plans and construction regulations, worsening traffic congestion across the city, according to the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA).
The CDA has given the institutions one month to ensure parking facilities and rectify other violations, warning that failure to comply could result in buildings being sealed or illegal structures demolished.
A CDA team today (6 August) inspected Parkview Hospital, Ibn Sina Hospital, Delta Hospital, Doctors' Lab, Chittagong Grammar School and Chittagong Ideal School, where it found multiple violations of approved plans and building codes.
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CDA officials said several institutions had obtained approval for residential buildings but were operating hospitals, diagnostic centres or educational institutions instead. In many cases, designated parking areas had been converted into canteens, gas cylinder storage spaces or parking for institutional vehicles, forcing patients' relatives, students' and guardians' vehicles onto nearby roads and worsening congestion.
Inspectors also identified shortcomings in fire safety and emergency exit systems at several facilities.
CDA Chairman Engineer Belayet Hossain said Chittagong Grammar School requires students to have private vehicles for admission, yet lacks adequate parking for them.
He said many hospitals and educational institutions either do not have approved building plans or are not using their buildings in accordance with those plans, leading to roadside parking and severe traffic congestion.
"We have instructed them to remove these irregularities within one month," he said.
The CDA said similar violations had previously been detected during inspections at Metropolitan Hospital, Medical Centre, National Hospital, Max Hospital and several private universities.
Belayet said Parkview Hospital's parking arrangements were comparatively better, but long queues of vehicles – particularly CNG-run three-wheelers – at an adjacent petrol station were creating congestion in the area.
The CDA sought the petrol station's approved design and related documents, but these were not produced. Ibn Sina Hospital has also been asked to submit the necessary documents.
The CDA chairman said future policy would encourage new hospitals to be established in planned areas outside the city rather than within the urban core, where adequate parking could be ensured more easily and traffic congestion reduced.
He added that after inspections of all private hospitals are completed, the CDA will hold a joint meeting with the Directorate General of Health Services, Chattogram City Corporation, Chattogram Metropolitan Police, the district administration and hospital owners to review compliance with the directives and determine further action.
