There is a fresh buzz that the old Zenana Hospital building will be razed to make way for more parking space for Telangana High Court. An administrative sanction has been accorded for dismantling the H-Block, High Court Legal Services Committee Building, Dog Kennel and the structures abutting the parking lot of the Telangana High Court. A multi-level car parking structure is set to come up there for parking the vehicles of High Court staff, lawyers and judges. The Administrator General has also been asked to vacate the office recently for going ahead with the demolition work.
“The Honourable High Court in a writ petition has also directed the Registry to take immediate steps for demolition of the old building H-Block and the adjoining structures and keep the premises ready for commencement of construction of Parking Block, in May 2023,” says the letter accessed by this reporter.
“The Zenana Hospital is part of Hyderabad’s legacy. It is as important to its medical and social history as the Osmania General Hospital and the Chloroform Commission. Demolishing it would be a disaster for city’s heritage,” said Anuradha Reddy, convenor of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. The medical facility known as Victoria Memorial Hospital was shifted to Petlaburj Maternity Hospital and the building is used for ancillary functions of the HC. The Victoria Memorial Hospital is a listed site (II-B) according the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority list and enjoys protection as per the HC ruling on the Irrum Manzil case.
Earlier, a portion of land abutting the City College was to be turned into a parking lot, but the college officials baulked and have started building classrooms in the space. Parking around the High Court has become a big issue as some of the vehicles spill onto the road skirting Musi River and slow down the traffic.
The High Court parking complex has expanded on the eastern side and cars are parked around an old fountain that dates back to Qutb Shahi dynasty. Recently, conservation work has been carried out on the fountain complex.
