HYDERABAD: An RTI filed by a citizen’s group with the Telangana State Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation has revealed that in 2018-19 and 2019-20, no repairs were taken up in the Osmania General Hospital (OGH) premises.
As per the response to the RTI, the heritage block which once housed the administrative and in-patient departments of OGH, has had no repairs or maintenance works for the last two years.
The revelation comes in light of the fact that in July and August, heavy showers left in-patient wards inundated, forcing patients and healthcare workers to wade through knee-deep waters. The Director of Medical Education, Dr K Ramesh Reddy, then ordered for the entire premises to be cleared out. Wards, offices and operation theatres were shifted to newer buildings.
"We request MAUD Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar, who worked to restore other heritage buildings, to pursue restoration of the OGH heritage block in public interest," said the Society for Safety of Public and Good Governance (SSPG Hyderabad).
Doctors in the OGH campus say the situation is reflective of the government’s attitude towards public health. "Over the last few years, walls have chipped off and fallen, putting lives in peril. The new building where we have temporarily shifted is insufficient," said a PG doctor who was part of the protests seeking a renovated OGH building.