Old OGH building to be shut down
The old building of Osmania general hospital (OGH), a heritage structure, is to be sealed and completely vacated according to orders issued by the director of health and medical education on Wednesday.
The building where rainwater entered the ground floor and flooded the area is now not going to be used and will be sealed.
The orders state that it must be completely vacated. The patients of general surgery and orthopedic department were shifted to other blocks after the flooding. There are operation theatres on the first and third floors of the building. The administrative department of the hospital also sits in the same building and they too have to be shifted to other buildings.
Dr P. Naik, in-charge superintendent of OGH said, “We have already shifted patients. There are only doctors' rooms and administration staff in the building who will need to be moved.”
The sealing of the building raises the question of whether it will then be restored or allowed to deteriorate. A senior doctor, on condition of anonymity, said, “It is a heritage structure and restoration will have to be done but when is a very big question.”
A section of heritage enthusiasts and senior doctors who have studied in Osmania medical college believe that it was a 'deliberate attempt to flood the building'. They fear that sealing of the building is going to be a step towards further deterioration rather than restoration. Inspection of the building was also carried out in September 2019 by heritage experts and they found that the building is strong and its foundation intact. It required maintenance in terms of cleaning and removing vegetation and restoration work was needed due to its high usage.
Anuradha Reddy, convenor of INTACH, Hyderabad chapter, said, “We have our fears for the building and we hope for restoration work will be carried out at the earliest. What was the reason for flooding in the hospital? Has it been identified? OGH was never flooded in the many rains that occurred in Hyderabad. Why did it happen now?”
According to Telangana government doctors' association (TGDA), the proposal is to completely restore the heritage building, dome and façade, which faces the High Court.
Dr R. Raghu, co-chairman of the joint action committee of TGDA said, “We want a new OGH building but the heritage structure will be restored. The other new buildings will be behind the heritage structure. Government has taken the first step towards safety and we hope that others will also follow.”
Demand for new OGH buildings and complete restoration is pending since 2015. There are a lot of encroachments inside the OGH building and experts state that the new building can be easily made by evicting these encroachers.
There is space for huge buildings at the back. Experts state that the domes and the building are a glory in the medical world and the building has a rich heritage. It must be restored and a method drawn to allow new and old buildings to co-exist.