Finally there is a glimmer of hope for more than a century-old building of Osmania Hospital.
Breaking his silence on the State Government’s plans to demolish the magnificent structure, Hyderabad’s influential member of Parliament and president of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Asaduddin Owaisi said a resounding no.
The MP came out strongly against any plan to demolish the building asking the Government to construct new hospital buildings on the seven acres of open land available on the same premises.
“We are against the demolition of the building as it is a heritage building not only for Hyderabad but for the entire country”, he told a Press conference in Hyderabad. He pointed out that the Government was now working to restore more than 400 years old Qutub Shahi tombs in Hyderabad . “Osmania Hospital building can also be similarly restored,” he said.
“In big cities like Mumbai and Delhi along with the development the national heritage buildings are also being conserved. In a city like Hyderabad which is known as a historic and cultural city, demolition of a historic building like Osmania Hospital is not acceptable”, he said.
Owaisi’s strong opposition to the demolition plans has brought cheers to the Hyderabadis and the heritage activists who were fighting a losing battle against an insensitive Government.
Owaisi’s opposition to the planned demolition to make way for new building has come at a time when the State Government had started the process of shifting the patients to other hospitals.