Junior and senior doctors of Osmania General Hospital launched ‘one-hour every day’ on Tuesday to highlight their demand for a new hospital building.
While similar protests had been staged in 2018, the fresh one was triggered after rainwater flooded the in-patient ward on July 15, posing threat to the health and safety of patients and healthcare professionals.
Along with that demand, doctors of OGH and other hospitals expressed a significant opinion, stating that they do not mind if the century-old in-patient (IP) block is razed to make way for a new building.
Rotting heritage building
The IP block was constructed in 1917 by the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan. Due to years of neglect, the century-old building required urgent repairs which were not fixed. Water drips from ceiling and seeps through its old walls. Incidents of chunks of lime mortar crashing down, even on patients’ beds, have also been reported.
When plans to bring down the IP block to construct a new building was announced in 2015, it was opposed by heritage activists, leaders of Opposition parties and general public. Though plans to start construction on land around the IP block were charted, it was not put into action.
After rainwater flooded the IP block on July 15, doctors and staff expressed concern about their safety. They held a meeting on Monday and decided to protest from Tuesday fora new building.
‘Nizam’s name at stake’
“The Nizam’s name will flourish only if a good hospital is functioning, but not with the existing dilapidated building. Besides, the IP block is in a very bad condition. The government should dismantle the old building and construct a new one by preserving some of the heritage,” said Pratibha Lakshmi, associate professor-General Medicine, OGH.
President of Telangana Government Doctors Association-OGH unit, K. Ram Singh said they will continue the one-hour protest for a week. He said a decision will soon be taken on intensifying the protest based on the State government’s response to their demand for a new building.