Hyderabad: Opposition to the move to demolish the iconic Osmania General Hospital on the banks of river Musi has been increasing by the day from various quarters even as the Telangana government was pressing ahead with its plans to demolish the more than a century old hospital and officials were preparing to shift patients to other hospitals.
Several veteran doctors, who served in the premier Nizam era hospital, joined the heritage activists to raise their voice to protect the monument.
A group of doctors including noted nephrologist and retired superintendent of Osmania, Dr A Gopal Kishan and members of Osmania Medical College Old Boys Association visited the hospital and inspected the condition of the building and spoke to the staff and patients.
“Osmania Hospital [founded in 1910] has a unique place in the history as it has done a path-breaking work in the field of medical care and health. This was the first hospital in India where chloroform was used. This was the first super speciality hospital in the country. Even former President of India Shankar Dayal Sharma was also treated here”, recalled Gopal Kishan making a forceful plea against demolition.
“If the government wants to shift the hospital elsewhere it is free to do so. But the historic building of Osmania Hosiptal should not be demolished. It is part of the great heritage of Hyderabad and history of Telangana”, he said. The entire hospital was spread over an area of 26 acres, inpatient block alone was over an area of 2.37 acres with a total bed capacity of 1,168 bed including 363 in super speciality wards.
Cheruku Sudhakar of Telangana Intellectuals Forum, who also part of the team opposed the proposed demolition of the building. He warned that if the government moves the patients out without making alternate arrangements, it will benefit only the private hospitals.
Prominent ophthalmologist Shyam Sundar, former director of health and medical education Dr Satyanarayana, dental college principal Dr P Balarddy, Osmania Medical College Prof G Vindo Kumar and Dr Najafi Begum were part of the team which also spoke to the staff members and the patients.
The doctors demanded that the government should seek the help of experts to conserve the building and use it for administrative offices if not for the in patient wards. “Of the total area of 26 acres of the hospital, the heritage building takes up only two acres. They can build the new structures on the remaining land. Why are they after this beautiful building”, asked Shyam Sundar.
The talk that the magnificent domed structure of Osmania Hospital will vanish from the skyline of Hyderabad city has created a disquiet among the citizens including several celebrities and sports personalities who took to the social media to lodge their protest and oppose any such move.
#SaveOGH hashtag was trending among the Hyderbadis throughout the world.
“Why why we ever want to destroy our heritage? Such an iconic monument must be restored and cherished”, tweeted Hyderabadi actor of Bollywood Dia Mirza.
Another Hyderabad born actor Aditi Rao Hydari gave a call to other celebrities including tennis ace Sania Miza to join the movement. “we need to stop this? Can we do something”, she tweeted.
Even many seniors like the film director Shyam Benegal, who also hails from Hyderabad and Mahesh Bhatt have also joined the chorus to save Osmania Hospital. “The High Court, the OU Arts College and the OGH, among others, are the landmarks of Hyderabad just as the Charminar. It represents the cultural character of Hyderabad. How can any one think of getting rid of one or any of them”, asked Shyam Benegal.
Protests have also come in from other parts of the globe. “It is more than just a building”, said John Zubrzychki, an Australian author about Osmania Hospital. “It showcases a perfect blend of Indian and European architecture. To demolish it will be criminal”.
Ordinary Hyderabadis were also up in arms over the move. “This is sheer foolishness”, said businessman Ravi Kumar. “If Charminar were to develop cracks, will this government demolish that monument also?”
“Hyderabad without Osmania Hospital is unthinkable. This is a great tragedy that city’s heritage was being destroyed one by one”, said Rahmatullah Wasey, a civil engineering student.
Hanumantha Reddy, an IT professional said that the plans speak of the ignorance and the insensitivity of the government. “It is a great crime. Can this government rebuild a structure like the present one? Look at the way they have preserved heritage and hundreds of years old buildings in London and other European cities”, he said.
The neglected garden adjacent to the hospital also has another relic of history, the old banyan tree which had saved lives of more than 150 people during the deadly floods in river Musi in 1908. Demolition of the building and construction of new towers will mean that this historic tree will also be cut down.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti government was in the process of getting the building deleted from the list of heritage structures to overcome the legal hurdle in the paths of its demolition. It is planning to build four new multi-storied buildings in place of the present old structure.
The opponents of government’s plans were also planning to knock on the doors of the High Court if the government does not relent.
Since finding a huge complex to accommodate all the departments including the outpatient and inpatient wings at the same place was difficult the government was planning to house them in different buildings. It has raised the question of how the patients will be shifted from the outpatient to the inpatient wards if they were located at different places.
