Hyderabad’s historic Osmania General Hospital will be relocated to Goshamahal as the Telangana government decided to construct a new building for the state’s oldest and biggest hospital.Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy ordered that the new building with the state-of-art infrastructure be built on 32 acres land of the present Police Stadium and Sports Complex at Goshamahal, which is also a city landmark.
The present building of Osmania Hospital at Afzal Gunj near Musi River will be conserved as a heritage structure. The Chief Minister plans to preserve and restore the historic building as part of the proposed Musi Riverfront development project to attract tourists.
The old building of Osmania Hospital is in a dilapidated condition and there have been demands from people and also the hospital staff for several years to construct a new building.
A proposal by the previous government of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to demolish the present building of Osmania Hospital to build new structure was strongly opposed by historians, heritage activists and concerned citizens, who had approached the High Court.
After Congress party came to power, it decided to preserve the old building and construct the new building at some other location.
Conceived after the Musi floods of 1908, the Osmania Hospital was built by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad State and named after him.
Designed by British architect Vincent Jerome Esch and Nawab Khan Bahadur Mirza Akbar Baig in the Indo-Sarcenic style, it was completed in 1919. Heritage experts say the domes of Osmania Hospital added to Hyderabad’s charms.
Spread over 26.5 acres, the hospital has 11 major blocks.
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