The administration of Osmania General Hospital locked up the iconic in-patient block (old building) on Monday, allegedly as there have been regular visitors to the block since the Director of Medical Education had issued orders to ‘seal’ the building last week.
On July 22, the Director of Medical Education, K Ramesh Reddy had issued orders to seal the building and have the premises vacated after the building was flooded with rainwater due to a blocked sewage pipe. This incident caused a huge uproar and political outcry as pictures and videos of the ill patients wading through water for treatment went viral.
However, as the government’s move to seal the building raised speculation of the 100-year-old dilapidated structure being razed, several heritage enthusiasts and political leaders have been visiting the hospital and convening meetings to protect the structure, according to Deccan Chronicle. As the security reportedly could not handle these crowds, the administration decided to lock the building preventing anyone from entering it.
Already, the administration had shifted the patients and offices from the old building, which was constructed in 1917 by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad state.
Osmania Hospital has three blocks: in-patient block, out-patient block, and Quli Qutb Shah block, spread over 26 acres of land.
Meanwhile, heritage enthusiasts have launched an online campaign to protect the iconic structure after Health Minister Eatala Rajender confirmed their suspicions that the government is building a new building by demolishing the existing structure.
“People who are opposing the construction of a new building should remember that the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, had constructed the hospital as a health facility to serve the people and not to project it as a monument,” Eatala had said.
Following this statement, the heritage enthusiasts in a petition appealed to the government to restore and not demolish the old building. “The government should take urgent steps to ensure that the building is not further damaged. Now that the building is sealed, the government should stop any entry into the building,” they said.