“First off, Osmania has had a lot of firsts — all specialty departments such as cardiology, neurology, plastic surgery, etc., were first started at Osmania. The rest of AP followed much later. You must also know that, in the world, chloroform was first successfully used at the Osmania Medical College. Now, without any consideration of its prestigious history, they want to demolish it.
Us doctors have a lot of affinity for Osmania. She’s like my mother and I can’t let her die just because she’s old. When I met Dr R.D. Lele, the father of nuclear medicine in India, in Mumbai, he told me, ‘If anyone is adamant enough to demolish Osmania, I’ll be the first person to come and stand before it’. He’s so emotionally attached to the hospital. In fact, I’ve been getting calls from doctors all over the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand about the proposed demolition move. I’ve told them that as long as I’m there, I won’t let anybody demolish it.
I also have many fond memories of Osmania since I joined the medical college in 1953. In fact, I did my graduation, post graduation and specialty here. After I returned from England, I started the nephrology department in 1976 here, which was a first in Andhra Pradesh. We had our first free kidney transplant on May 16, 1982, and you’ll be happy to know that the patient, Ibrahim, is still alive and doing well. This was also the first kidney transplant at a government hospital in the country — an unforgettable experience for me.
The hospital has not decayed overnight... that process was gradual. When I was the superintendent of the hospital in the early ’90s, I must have written about 50 letters to the government but no one paid heed. You have to understand that this hospital was built for just 400 patients. In fact, even when there were heavy rains in Hyderabad, there was about two feet of water in one of the departments for a week. When the then Speaker Sripad Rao came for treatment and saw the flooding, he was shocked. He immediately sanctioned a Rs 5 crore grant for repairs. This is the effect of VVIP visits. And now, none of the ministers even bother with a visit.
People are also spreading rumours about how doctors and alumni are against development. We definitely need a new building. Yes, we do. But we should preserve and conserve that heritage structure. The Telangana state government should respect the institution. We are waiting for the final reports from Intach before we take a decision. But no matter what, we won’t let the building be demolished.”
(Dr Gopal Kishan is a former superintendent of Osmania General Hospital and the deputy chairman of Osmania Medical Old Students’ Trust and the Chairman of Telangana Doctors’ Forum.)
(As told to Latika Marri)
