Chennai: On the occasion of World Heritage Day Monday, doctors and physicians demanded better protection of heritage structures that serve as hospitals and medical institutions.
Getting a new lease of life, the Red Fort Museum of the anatomy block of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) is awaiting renovation.
“The anatomy block and the seminar hall of the hospital have received the heritage status. We have given a proposal to government for renovating the museum of the Anatomy block. Once, we receive sufficient funds, it will be made open to the public,” said Dean, RGGGH, Vimala. The museum will showcase important incidents in history of Madras Medical College, she added.
After December floods, heritage buildings are more at a threat now than they were nearly 20 years back. There is a need to protect heritage sites in the state from damage.
According to recent studies, it has been found that India ranks 133rd in Carbon Dioxide emissions per capita, with 1.7 tonnes in 2009-15, which is double since 1990.
“Hospital buildings like the Egmore Eye Hospital and some blocks of RGGGH, that have received the heritage status, are not being given their due recognition,” said historian S. Theodore Baskaran.
“Though they are being renovated, it is not being done in the way it should be,” he said. In the absence of a ‘Heritage Act’ in Tamil Nadu, experts feel that preservation of heritage structures are not considered a priority.
“Renovators should receive the right kind of training wherein they are made aware of history and style of the period in which the structure was built,” he said.
“Conservation of heritage structures can be very challenging. We are not well placed in terms of conservation,” said Arun Menon, convener of the National Centre for Safety of Heritage Structures at IIT. “Though the progress is slow, we are moving in the right direction in terms of heritage conservation,” he said.
