Telangana Govt Orders Closure of Osmania Hospital's Heritage Building

HYDERABAD: The Telangana government on Wednesday, July 22 issued orders to immediately close the old heritage building of the historic Osmania Hospital, which was in a dilapidated state. The building was immediately ordered to be vacated and sealed.

Telangana Director of Medical Education (DME) Dr K Ramesh Reddy issued orders to this extent on Wednesday.    

Reddy had written a letter to the hospital superintendent, asking them to immediately vacate the building, and asked the management to shift the patients in the hospital to other wards.
 
In the letter, the DME said that the heritage building should be sealed after intimating his office. Hospital staff should not undertake any activity in the building thereafter, he said.

Reddy also warned of serious action against those who are found violating the instructions.

Jupally Rajender, President of Telangana Medical and Health Gazetted Officers’ Association said that they have started the process of shifting patients and doctors offices in the building and it would be completed soon.
 
The hospital building is in a dilapidated state and we are sealing the hospital to avoid any risk to the lives of the people, said Rajender.

Osmania Hospital in-charge superintendent, Dr Pandu Naik said that six wards and two operation theatres have been moved into the new building in the same campus to avoid any untoward incident and in the best interest of patients.

The Osmania Hospital is one of the oldest hospitals in India constructed during the Nizam’s reign in 1866, and the present hospital building was built in 1919 on the orders of Hyderabad's last Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan.

The Hospital was designed by British architect Vincent Jerome Esch and Nawab Khan Bahadur Mirza Akbar Baig in the Indo-Sarcenic style.

After the formation of a separate Telangana state in 2014, the Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao visited the hospital and announced a plan to demolish the building and to build a new building in its place.

The Telangana government also granted Rs 200 crore funds for this project in the first budget session of Telangana.

But the government backtracked on the demolition of the old building as archaeology and opposition parties objected to the proposal.

As rainwater inundated most parts of the heritage structure, the state health officials finally decided to vacate the building now.