Hyderabad: Osmania University has a big task on its hand during the centenary year to restore the glory of Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Parasitology, Begumpet. It is in the premises of this building that Ronald Ross (1857-1932), the India born British doctor, discovered that the malarial parasite was being transmitted by mosquitoes. This big scientific discovery fetched him global fame and later Nobel Prize in 1902.
However, this historic building has been reduced to a shadow of its former self. The abutting land issue with Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the last several years, lack of water connection and no approach road for movement of water tankers meant the premises remain unused for most part of the year and kept locked.
Dr B. Redya Naik, Director of the Institute said that they want to develop the historic building as a place of tourist attraction where the young minds are motivated and will serve as inspiration for them to achieve big things in their career.
He stated that efforts are being made under Vice-Chancellor Prof S. Ramachandram for alienation of abutting land to Osmania for holistic development of the Nobel Laureate’s work-place.
This building served as a hospital for the British Regimental troops and Ronald Ross, in the rank of Surgeon-Major, came to work here in 1895. After one-year, he was transferred to Bangalore to control cholera only to return to Secunderabad in June 1897. From June 18, he continued his studies on brindled mosquito breeding and made a big breakthrough two months later. After a series of experiments and disections he carried out on infected mosquitoes, the scientist confirmed the life cycle of the malarial parasite in the female Anopheles mosquito on August 20, 1897.
Ross died in 1932 and three years later English doctors in Secunderabad Cantonment took steps to construct a marble plaque in front of the building, which then served as Officers’ Mess. In 1955 this building, which housed Deccan Airways office, was handed over to Osmania University.
