No hospital, infrastructure will be allowed at CRB: CCC Mayor Shahadat

Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Mayor Shahadat Hossain has said that no new hospital or infrastructure will be allowed at the Central Railway Building (CRB) area of the city, amid renewed controversy over a proposed healthcare facility.

Speaking to journalists during the inauguration of waterlogging mitigation work in Jamal Khan on Sunday morning (April 19), the mayor said he had already discussed the issue with Railways Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam.

“I told him clearly that no hospital or structure will be allowed at CRB by cutting trees. The people of Chattogram will not accept it either,” Shahadat said, adding that the minister also agreed in principle to review the existing facility.

He noted that the focus should instead be on improving the current hospital infrastructure. “If necessary, the old building can be rebuilt into a better hospital. That is also a demand of the time, as the current facility is not serving patients effectively,” he added.

The mayor further proposed developing a full-fledged medical hospital and college alongside the existing dental college within the old structure, while firmly ruling out any new construction in the CRB area.

Meanwhile, protests intensified on Sunday as CRB Rokkha Mancha held a rally at the Seven Road intersection, opposing any hospital or commercial development at the site.

Speakers at the rally described CRB as the “lungs of Chattogram” and a vital green heritage zone rich in medicinal plants. They warned that no development project should be allowed to harm its ecological balance.

Former principal of Chittagong Medical College, Dr. Imran Bin Yunus, said valuable green spaces in the city were being destroyed one after another. “CRB is now under threat. This is Chattogram’s breathing space and heritage—no hospital will be allowed here,” he said.

Former ward councillor Jannatul Ferdous said local residents had previously resisted similar hospital construction plans through sustained protests and vowed that any renewed attempt would be stopped again.

Railway Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal leader M R Manju alleged that attempts to establish a hospital at CRB have been ongoing for years but were earlier blocked due to public opposition.

Environmental activists, political leaders, and civil society representatives also joined the rally, reiterating demands to preserve the CRB area as a protected green zone.