Prime Minister Tarique Rahman told parliament on Monday that the government planned to establish six dedicated 100-bed hospitals in major industrial areas to ensure proper healthcare services for workers.

“To ensure proper medical care for workers and the working class, the government has planned to construct six hospitals, each with a capacity of 100 beds,” he said.

The hospitals will initially be established in Savar and Ashulia in Dhaka, Tongi and Kaliakair in Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chattogram, he said, adding that they would be developed exclusively as healthcare facilities for workers.

Tarique made the remarks while responding to a lawmaker's question in parliament.

Earlier, raising the issue on a point of order, BNP lawmaker Shamsur Rahman Simul Biswas asked whether the government had any specific plan to establish hospitals in labour-intensive areas to provide healthcare services for workers and their families.

He said they had heard from the labour minister about the prime minister's interest in ensuring healthcare services for low-income productive citizens, particularly working people.

Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal said the lawmaker had raised the question ahead of the prime minister's question-answer session scheduled for Wednesday, as Tarique would not be present in the House that day.

Responding to the query, the prime minister said Bangladesh's energy sector had become dependent on foreign sources during more than a decade of authoritarian rule, with the country relying on imports instead of using its own mineral resources for the benefit of its people.

He said the country's industrial development had also been hampered by import-dependent policies that prevented domestic industries from growing naturally.

Tarique said the healthcare system had similarly been weakened during the previous autocratic regime, particularly in rural areas, where healthcare facilities established under earlier democratic governments had also been destroyed.

He noted that the Leader of the Opposition had also expressed concern over the country's healthcare system during a recent parliamentary session.

The prime minister said the healthcare system had been deliberately weakened during the authoritarian regime, forcing people to travel to a particular foreign country for medical treatment.

He added that the current government, elected through the people's votes, was working for people from all classes and professions, with healthcare services for workers also receiving priority.