Private ambulance owners at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) have suspended their indefinite strike for seven days after a meeting with hospital authorities and the officer-in-charge of Shahbagh Police Station.
The decision came this evening (28 October), after the owners gave the hospital administration seven days to address their five-point demands, including a permanent parking facility on the hospital premises.
“We held a meeting with the hospital administration and the OC of Shahbagh Police Station in the afternoon. We have given the authorities seven days to meet our demands. If they are not implemented within this period, we will announce further programmes,” said Md Badal Matbar, general secretary of the Bangladesh Ambulance Owners Welfare Association.
DMCH Director Brigadier General AKM Farhad Hossain confirmed the meeting, saying the parties had been given seven days to resolve the issue.
The meeting was held at the hospital’s administrative block, with senior hospital officials, the Shahbagh police OC and ambulance owners’ association president Badal Sardar present, according to the association.
The owners began the indefinite strike on Tuesday morning (27 October), demanding designated parking space inside the hospital. The shutdown disrupted patient transfers, leaving some families struggling to find transport for critically ill patients and deceased relatives.
Some families reportedly had to wait for hours or use alternative vehicles, including vans and trolleys, to transport patients and bodies.
The dispute stems from the hospital administration’s decision to remove private ambulances from the premises. The owners said they had previously been allowed to park inside the hospital and later prepared a space beneath the new building, installing CCTV cameras, lights and a gate. Their vehicles were subsequently removed from that area as well.
Around 70–80 private ambulances operate at the hospital, transporting patients to other facilities and taking them home after treatment, according to ambulance owners.
However, the hospital director has said DMCH does not have enough space to provide permanent parking for private ambulances. He said ambulances would be allowed to enter to drop off patients and return when needed to collect them, but would not be permitted to remain parked on the premises.
The owners have warned that they will announce another programme if the authorities fail to address their demands within the seven-day deadline.
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