Ctg Correspondent
The Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) has conducted inspections at several private hospitals and educational institutions to assess parking facilities, drop-off bays, approved building plans and land-use compliance as part of efforts to ease the city’s growing traffic congestion.
The inspection, led by CDA Chairman Engineer Belayet Hossain on Thursday, uncovered widespread shortages of parking spaces, violations of approved building plans and unauthorised use of buildings.
The inspection team visited Parkview Hospital, Ibn Sina Hospital, Delta Hospital, Doctors Hospital, Chittagong Grammar School (Chatteshwari Campus) and Chittagong Ideal High School.
At Parkview Hospital, inspectors found that the approved building plan required a 20-foot-wide drop-off bay, but the existing facility measured only around 15 feet, causing traffic bottlenecks. The designated parking area was being used to store gas cylinders and office materials instead of accommodating patients’ vehicles. The CDA instructed the authorities to remove the stored items and recommended installing proper parking signs, directional markings and a token-based parking management system.
At Ibn Sina Hospital, officials failed to produce the approved building plan despite prior instructions from the CDA. Inspectors found that the hospital was operating on a CDA residential plot without the necessary approval for hospital use. The parking area lacked signs and management systems and could accommodate only two to three vehicles. Gas cylinders and other materials were also found stored in the parking space.
At Delta Hospital, inspectors found that the building had been approved for residential use but was currently operating as a hospital. Although the approved plan included space for 20 vehicles, only three to four parking spaces were available. No designated drop-off bay was found.
At Doctors Hospital, no parking facility or drop-off bay was available. Hospital authorities said they had not been notified in advance and, therefore, could not present the approved building plan during the inspection. Inspectors also found that the mandatory building setback had not been maintained.
At Chittagong Grammar School’s Chatteshwari Campus, the inspection revealed that although the approved plan included 26 parking spaces, only one parking space currently exists.
Meanwhile, Chittagong Ideal High School is operating under approval for a commercial building. Inspectors found the school’s own microbus parked in the designated parking area. The CDA advised the school to strengthen traffic management and increase the number of school buses to reduce reliance on private vehicles.
Following the inspection, CDA Chairman Engineer Belayet Hossain gave all the institutions one month to improve their parking management systems and take effective measures to help reduce traffic congestion.
He also urged educational institutions to gradually introduce school bus services and, where possible, relocate to permanent and more suitable campuses.
The CDA chairman said the authority would soon hold meetings with hospital owners, school authorities, Chattogram City Corporation, the district administration, traffic police, the Directorate General of Health Services and other stakeholders to develop a coordinated strategy for improving traffic management and ensuring planned urban development in the city.
