HYDERABAD: As the threat of demolition looms large over the heritage wing of the nearly 100-year-old Osmania General Hospital (OGH), it is important to bear in mind that going by the Errum Manzil judgement of 2019, OGH still remains a protected heritage monument.
To go through with any apparent plan for demolition, the State government would have to constitute a Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC). The HCC would have to ‘de-list’ the structure from the list of protected monuments, and the public too has to be notified regarding the same, said experts.
However, the manner in which the Saifabad Palace was demolished has left heritage experts in the city worried. “The Errum Manzil court order protects OGH. For any plans regarding the hospital, the government has to form a HCC,” said Sajjah Shahid, a historian.
Completed in 1925 and designed by architect Vincent Jerome Esch, the hospital still continues to enthral visitors with its architectural style. It has also been witness to medical revolutions, such as two Chloroform Commissions - the work which laid down the pathway to modern day usage of chloroform worldwide. It was also considered to be the main hospital for the city, not just during the time of the Nizams, but also in the recent past.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Dr Sudhir Naik, who was the superintendent of OGH in 1999, stated that VIPs often frequented the hospital during his tenure. “However, the importance of the hospital reduced after corporate hospitals started mushrooming around the area,” he said.
However, with time and administrative apathy the hospital has suffered a lot, leading up to its closure today. But as numerous inspections done by heritage experts have shown, - OGH is not beyond repair. An Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) report from 2015 states, “The existing Heritage Building Block of OGH is structurally stable, without any threat to its own life or to that of its occupants, provided that immediate steps are initiated to repair and restore the structure, and ensure proper maintenance. The major damage is because of water seepage which can be repaired easily.”
In 2015, CM K Chandrasekhar Rao had planned to dismantle the heritage building of Osmania Gneral Hospital and put up a modern structure in it s place. However, the move erupted a protest from various sections of the society forcing the CM to rethink his plans
INTACH Hydeabad convenor Anuradha Reddy said, "It is tragic the way Saifabad Palace was demolished despite being a heritage structure. OGH is a structurally sound building. IT can be easily repaired."
Chloroform Commissions
Nizam VI Mir Mahbub Ali Khan sponsored the first Hyderabad Chloroform Commission that oversaw experiments that proved that chloroform toxicity affects respiratory system, rather than the heart.