Preserve heritage building of Osmania General Hospital: Telangana Congress to CM K Chandrasekhar Rao
HYDERABAD: Telangana Congress president and Nalgonda MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday demanded that the state government preserve the heritage building of Osmania General Hospital and construct a modern world-class hospital on the adjacent six acres of open land.
“Osmania general hospital is one of the biggest treatment facilities in Telangana catering to eight lakh out-patients and 60,000 in-patients every year in addition to being a teaching facility. A new hospital should be constructed in OGH premises without touching the heritage building,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
He demanded that the state government should rope in heritage conservation experts to restore and repair the OGH heritage block. “When the more than 400-year-old Qutub Shahi Tombs could be restored, why is it not possible to restore the 95-year-old OGH building?" he asked.
The 95-year-old hospital was well maintained till 2014 but the TRS government left it to neglect. Now, KCR is citing its dilapidated condition as the reason to take up demolition. “We will not allow KCR to erase the rich medical heritage of Hyderabad,” said Uttam after he visit to the hospital along with M Anjan Kumar Yadav, Feroz Khan and other senior party leaders.
“Osmania hospital represents the modern medical education in Hyderabad which began in the 19th century with the founding of the Hyderabad Medical School with Afzal Gunj Hospital serving as a teaching hospital. Hyderabad Medical School was later renamed as the Osmania Medical College and Afzal Gunj Hospital was renamed as Osmania General Hospital when the present structure was constructed in the year 1925,” he said.
Even the technical assessment done by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) concluded that the heritage block of the hospital was structurally stable. The damage was on the surface of the building and reparable, he said.
The TPCC chief blamed KCR-government’s inefficiency in handling the Covid-19 situation in Telangana State as the reason for the community spread of the deadly virus.
The TPCC Chief appealed to the people to stay cautious and take all precautionary measures to protect themselves from the virus.
“Osmania general hospital is one of the biggest treatment facilities in Telangana catering to eight lakh out-patients and 60,000 in-patients every year in addition to being a teaching facility. A new hospital should be constructed in OGH premises without touching the heritage building,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
He demanded that the state government should rope in heritage conservation experts to restore and repair the OGH heritage block. “When the more than 400-year-old Qutub Shahi Tombs could be restored, why is it not possible to restore the 95-year-old OGH building?" he asked.
The 95-year-old hospital was well maintained till 2014 but the TRS government left it to neglect. Now, KCR is citing its dilapidated condition as the reason to take up demolition. “We will not allow KCR to erase the rich medical heritage of Hyderabad,” said Uttam after he visit to the hospital along with M Anjan Kumar Yadav, Feroz Khan and other senior party leaders.
“Osmania hospital represents the modern medical education in Hyderabad which began in the 19th century with the founding of the Hyderabad Medical School with Afzal Gunj Hospital serving as a teaching hospital. Hyderabad Medical School was later renamed as the Osmania Medical College and Afzal Gunj Hospital was renamed as Osmania General Hospital when the present structure was constructed in the year 1925,” he said.
Even the technical assessment done by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) concluded that the heritage block of the hospital was structurally stable. The damage was on the surface of the building and reparable, he said.
The TPCC chief blamed KCR-government’s inefficiency in handling the Covid-19 situation in Telangana State as the reason for the community spread of the deadly virus.
The TPCC Chief appealed to the people to stay cautious and take all precautionary measures to protect themselves from the virus.
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