Descendants of Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam, have asked the Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, to drop the idea of demolishing Osmania General Hospital building. Instead, they want the government to take up renovation of the building and convert it into a health museum.
Sahibzadi Rasheedunnisa Begum, granddaughter of Mir Osman Ali Khan, who participated in Dr. Sheela Raj Memorial Lecture on ‘Vincent Esch – Pioneer of Osmanian Architecture’ organised here on Wednesday, said the hospital is the one of the many projects taken up during the era of Nizam the seventh.
“It’s more than a building. A lot of historic significance is attached to it. It is the first hospital of a historic city and in no place do you find such an impressive building constructed to house a hospital by any ruler,” Ms. Rasheedunnisa said.
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Expressing her displeasure over the decision, she said that they are not against development works, but it should not be at the cost of heritage structures dotting the city. “The government should not take any hasty decision, some alternative needs to be worked out,” she said.
Meanwhile, the heritage activists are planning to approach the High Court in case the government goes ahead with its plan to demolish the hospital building. The activists are planning to stage a protest at the hospital on Thursday.