Doctors spar over OGH relocation

WRONG DIAGNOSiS

TJAC team visits the hospital to make first-hand study

Hyderabad: The meeting convened by Telangana Political JAC chairman Prof M Kodandaram at Osmania General Hospital (OGH) on Monday was marred by heated exchanges among the members of medical fraternity.

Two groups of doctors sparred against each other on the issue of relocating the OGH departments in some hospital and demolition the building to enable the government build a high-rise complex.

The doctors in the OGH were divided in their view on the demolition of the hospital building, which has heritage tag to it. Visibly perturbed by infighting among the doctors, Prof Kodandaram said he would hold a meeting in camera soon to hear the views of the doctors.

He stressed that the issue of demolition of the heritage buildings should be re-examined. It was yet to be studied whether a new complex should be build somewhere else and on the vacant land situation behind the OGH, he said.

Dr Mallikarjun, general surgeon OGH said, it was true that vacant land, measuring 6 acres, was lying idle behind the OGH. After leaving a part of the land for “setback,” just 4 acres of land would be available to build a high-rise complex and it was not sufficient for a teaching hospital.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) guidelines specified that the land measuring between 25 and 30 acres was a need to build a complex for a teaching hospital, he pointed out. The MCI also specified that a teaching hospital has to have residential quarters for doctors and nurses on the premises of a medical college.

The 4 acres of land behind OGH cannot accommodate all the structures. Meanwhile, a section of doctors expressed support for the demolition of the hospital. Dr B Ramesh, president of the Telangana Government Doctors Association (TGDA), wondered why there should be any objection to building a high-rise complex to house the hospital.

But a group of doctors wanted a new complex to be built either on Malakpet Race Course or Chanchalguda Jail. OGH is structurally strong Meanwhile, a team comprising conservation architects, structural engineers and members of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) visited OGH on Monday to study the strength of the building.

S P Anchuri, technical advisor to INTACH said, “The granite walls are 3 ft in thickness and there are no cracks. The jack arch roof too is in good condition, for every one meter there is a steel section, and the spans are close to each other. One metre in one direction and 3-4 metres in another. Repairs would be needed only in one panel.”

Divay Gupta, principal director, Architectural heritage division, INTACH, who flew to Hyderabad from Delhi said there were maintenance issues and there was no need for demolishing the structure.

The lack of maintenance for the last two decades had led to the sorry state of affairs. The building could be easily repaired and the cost would be less than demolishing the building. The repairs to the building may vary between Rs 2 and Rs 3 crore.