Stage Set For Demolition Of Osmania General Hospital ?

[Anta Assamey]

After overcoming all legal hurdles in the Supreme Court and the state high court on the demolition of state secretariat buildings, the Telangana government led by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has set his eyes on the demolition of the century-old Osmania General Hospital.

On Wednesday, the KCR government ordered the closure of the Osmania General Hospital, taking advantage of the recent inundation of the hospital building with rain and sewerage water.

Orders to this effect were issued by Director of Medical Education K Ramesh Reddy to the hospital superintendent. Reddy asked the hospital authorities to immediately vacate the building and shift the patients to other adjacent blocks.

The DME ordered that the old building be closed and sealed under intimation to his office. He said no activity be undertaken in the building hereafter.

“Any deviation from the above instructions will be viewed seriously,” Reddy said in the order.

In fact, even before the written order was given, the authorities started the process of shifting the patients and offices of the doctors in the OGH buildings to other buildings on the ground that the hospital building has become dilapidated and is crumbling and they cannot take any risk in continuing the hospital.

In 2015, too, KCR announced a plan to demolish the OGH building but dropped the plan, after it kicked up protests from heritage activists.

[Anta Assamey]

Kothadi kadataru anamata...