Hyderabad: The Telangana state government’s plan to demolish the heritage building housing Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad suffered yet another setback, with officials of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) declaring the building stable.
Even as the debate over the future of the building reached a frenzied pitch with more and more people coming out in favour of preserving the century-old building, Divay Gupta, director of INTACH’s Architecture and Heritage division, visited the hospital and examined the condition of the building extensively.
He along with an expert committee found the building in a “very good and structurally stable condition: and said that there was no threat to the building or its occupants.
Earlier the state government had decided to raze the building and construct new structures in its place on the recommendation of a committee of engineers from the Hyderabad-based Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University.
INTACH experts said that the damage to the building was only superficial and it could be repaired.
Gupta said the hospital can be expanded by replanning and redesigning many smaller structures without having to demolish the heritage structure. “The building with proper care can survive for decades”, he said.
Another prominent heritage activist Anuradha Naik, who was involved in the restoration and preservation of many historic buildings in Hyderabad, including the Chowmohalla Palace, also urged Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to give up the idea of demolishing the historic building.
Anuradha, whose father Dr Sudhir Naik was the founder of the Department of Cardiology in Osmania Hospital described the magnificent building as an icon of the glory of Hyderabad.
Meanwhile speculation was rife that, faced with relentless opposition from various quarters, the state government was now in rethinking mode on its plans of demolishing the historic structure. Sources said that the Chief Minister has asked the officials to explore the possibilities of constructing new buildings without demolishing the old structure. However there was no official confirmation of the same.
