Dialysis services at Dhaka’s National Institute of Kidney Diseases and Urology (NICDU) have been suspended since Tuesday, May 27, after service provider Sandor halted operations due to non-payment of government dues. The move has caused severe distress to patients and their families, many of whom rely on the facility for its affordable treatment.
On Monday, Sandor employees staged a three-hour strike, demanding payment of their outstanding salaries. They claim the company is owed Tk 75 million by the government, leading to a three-month salary delay. With Eid approaching and no assurance of payment, workers have refused to resume duty.
Sandor officials stated that such dues are typically cleared between January and February, but this year payments remain pending even after five months. The financial crisis has also disrupted the procurement of essential medical supplies like dialyzers. Repeated delays in bill clearance by government authorities have previously led to similar service interruptions.
Sandor currently operates dialysis services at two major centers in Dhaka and Chittagong, handling around 10% of the country’s total dialysis cases. The Dhaka center alone has 70 machines, all now idle, leaving countless patients without life-saving treatment.
