A delegation of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Anuradha Reddy, civil engineer and Hyderabad Chapter co-convener Sajjad Shahid, structural engineer Ranga Rao on Sunday inspected the Osmania General Hospital (OGH) and asserted that that the structure is strong and need not be demolish.
Commenting on the strength of the building, the INTACH delegation said that the structure is strong enough and would remain the same at least for another five years. “The building would continue to serve the purpose as usual if suitable repairs were carried out to it”, said the delegation.
They blamed the present condition of the building to gross neglect by successive rulers. Anuradha Reddy stressed maintenance of the OGH building and pointed out how strong the Nizam-built Unani hospital building was.
“Even if government anticipates threat to patients, instead of pulling down the OGH building it should be preserve it as a tourist attraction and build a new hospital in the adjoining vacant land. A measure in this direction would preserve landmark structures, art and heritage built by the Hyderabad Nawabs,” she added.
With the collapse of OGH structure, memories associated with it would vanish, said Sajjad Shahid. He urges the State government to drop the idea of pulling down the structure. He said that doctors who obtained their degrees from Osmania Hospital would not allow the structure to be pulled down.