Hyderabad: Congress pitches for preserving heritage OGH building

Hyderabad: TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday demanded the State government to preserve the heritage building of Osmania General Hospital and construct a modern world-class hospital on the adjacent six acres of open land on the same premises.

Accompanied with Hyderabad City Congress president M Anjan Kumar Yadav, Nampally incharge Feroz Khan and other leaders, Uttam Kumar Reddy inspected Osmania Hospital and had an interaction with the officials.

Speaking to media persons later, Uttam Kumar Reddy blamed the negligent attitude of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for the present condition of the OGH building. He said the 95-year-old hospital was well maintained till 2014. After TRS came to power, the first thing CM KCR suggested was the demolition of the OGH building. "CM KCR did not spend even Rs 7 for the maintenance of OGH in the last seven years. Now he is citing its dilapidated condition as the reason for demolition. We will not allow KCR to erase the rich medical heritage of Hyderabad," he said.

Uttam alleged that KCR was brutally attacking the rich heritage and culture of Hyderabad. He said Osmania Hospital represents the modern medical education in Hyderabad which began in the mid 19th century with the founding of the Hyderabad Medical School with Afzal Gunj Hospital serving as a teaching hospital. He said 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.

The TPCC chief pointed out the technical assessment done by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in the recent past led to the conclusion that the heritage block of the hospital was structurally stable.