Hyderabad Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi appears to have backed down from his demand for a new Osmania General Hospital. In a series of tweets on Tuesday, the MP laid out the plan to augment healthcare at the public hospital without harming the heritage structure. “A Committee of Chief Engineers will be submitting a report on Osmania Hospital’s expansion and upgradation. The hospital’s heritage building will not be demolished but restored. A new building will also be constructed while not obstructing the view of the heritage building,” wrote the MP.
Earlier, Mr Owaisi had visited the facility and demanded that a new building be built and said he didn’t care about heritage as much as healthcare. It triggered protests from citizens and heritage activists who reckoned that the structure of OGH is part of Hyderabad’s landscape. The building was designed by architect Vincent Esch and executed in the 1920s creating the visual landscape where the Telangana High Court and City College were on one bank of the Musi River while the public hospital was on the other side.
“The cost of restoration and construction of the new building will be approximately ₹560 crore, the proposal will be presented to @TelanganaCMO and then to the Cabinet. A report will also be submitted to High Court as a PIL is pending regarding the heritage structure,” wrote the MP on social media.
The decision on OGH was taken at a meeting attended by Home Minister Mahmood Ali, Finance Minister Harish Rao, Minister for Animal Husbandry Talasani Srinivas Yadav and AIMIM Floor Leader Akbaruddin Owaisi on Monday.
