Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan has announced that no hospital will be built in the much-debated Chittagong's Central Railway Building (CRB) area.
He made the announcement on Sunday at an Awami League public meeting at the polo ground area in Chittagong.
The railway minister said: “We had taken an initiative to build a hospital in CRB as a public-private partnership. The people of Chittagong, on the other hand, demanded that no hospital should be built here. Local representatives echoed the same.”
He said the prime minister has directed that no hospital will be built in the area as a token of respect to the people of Chittagong.
“The hospital will be built somewhere else,” Sujan added.
In March 2020, Bangladesh Railway and United Enterprise Ltd signed a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement on the construction of a 500-bed multi-specialized hospital and a 100-seat medical college in the CRB area.
The signing prompted various social and environmental organizations to stage movements to put a stop to the project.
On July 17, residents of Chittagong held processions, a tree plantation program, formed a human chain, and even engaged in other forms of protests all day against the decision.
On August 3, the mayor of Chittagong vowed to resist the planned construction of the hospital in the CRB area, considering it as the port city's hub of natural oxygen.
The 480-day-long movement came to an end on November 5 as the government showed no interest in constructing the proposed medical college and hospital in the location.
CRB has approximately 225 rare plant species. Surrounded by centuries-old trees, hills, and CRB holds a special place in people's hearts as a place steeped in Bangladesh's history and heritage.
Bengali New Year, Spring Festival, Rabindra-Nazrul Jayanti, and other cultural programs celebrating Bengali history and tradition are held in Sirishtala area.
CRB contains the graves of 11 people who died in the Great Liberation War, including Abdur Rauf, the elected general secretary of Chittagong University at the time.
