Staff Correspondent:

The National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), commonly known as Pangu Hospital, has stopped providing emergency service after a clash between its outsourced staff and the July uprising injured under treatment there.

The service halt has been causing immense suffering for regular patients.

“The situation in our hospital is still very bad. I was supposed to conduct an operation, but I can’t. There are no nurses, not even any peons. The hospital now only has doctors,” a Nitor doctor on Monday (March 10), seeking anonymity.

“Critical patients injured in accidents come to our hospital all the time. Patients are coming to beat up doctors because they don’t get treatment,” the doctor said.

The army is trying to control the situation, he added.

The doctor went on to say that as of now, there is no telling when the situation will revert back to normal.

“We were confined in a room from 11 am to 1 am. We managed to get out. A meeting is still going on in the director’s room. We will know what happens after the meeting,” the doctor added.

Earlier in the day, a clash occurred between the outsourced staff of the hospital and the uprising injured.

Ibne Mizan, deputy commissioner of Tejgaon Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, that several people suffered minor injuries in the clash.

A police officer stationed at Nitor, requesting anonymity, the clash stemmed from an incident last night when an outsourced staff member was allegedly beaten by injured students. “In protest, the staff began a work stoppage today, which led to the confrontation.”

Both groups engaged in chase and counter-chase armed with rods and sticks in front of the administrative building and outdoor department, the official added.