
CHENNAI: The 1965 batch of Madras Medical College alumni has requested that the state government convert the 128-year-old red-brick heritage structure known as ‘Red Fort’ into a medical museum. Built in 1897, the structure was later classified as a Grade I heritage building by the Justice E Padmanabhan Committee on Heritage Structures.
The alumni said that though the government earlier said the structure would be converted into a museum once restoration work was over, it has not been done even eight years since completion of work.
Dr J Balasubramanian, a member of MMC Heritage Committee and an alumnus, said the red-brick structure constructed by the British in Indo-Saracenic style housed the Department of Anatomy for several decades. The doctors said that MMC is the second oldest college in the country, the first being the Kolkata Medical College.
The heritage committee members have preserved some old medical equipment and photographs, including 120-year-old group photos of students with British doctors. The alumni said these can be displayed at the museum along with other rare specimens.
Dr N A Jayavelan, another member of committee, said Rs 1.97 crore was allotted in December 2017 by the then state government for the heritage structure’s renovation. The work was completed in 2018. The 1965 batch alumni said the museum can be thrown open to the public and students so that they can learn about the evolution of modern medicine in the country and the history of the institution.
On Wednesday, 48 out of 110 graduates of the 1965 batch of MMC met at the heritage building, while celebrating their diamond jubilee since graduating from college.