Residents protest against relocating Dr BRKR Government Ayurvedic College
Hyderabad: People of the Old City expressed displeasure over the shifting of the Dr BRKR Government Ayurvedic College from the premises of the Government Unani Hospital at Charminar to the Ayurvedic Hospital, Erragadda. The stated reason is that the Unani Hospital is being renovated.
The memo issued by the director, AYUSH, states that in order to avoid inconvenience to patients availing of ayurvedic medicines, 15 beds for inpatients along with staff be retained at a suitable location in the existing Charminar ayurvedic hospital. and the staff position retained there to cater to outpatient and inpatient services.
Locals say that shifting the college will affect the performance of the hospital.
Ms Megha Rani Agarwal said the hospital caters to the of the old and new cities of Hyderabad and surrounding districts. Patients from Karnataka and Maharashtra avail of the facility. It also works as the nucleus ayurveda hospital.
She asserted that it will be difficult for students pursuing PG and UG internship to attend classes at Erragadda and perform their internship at Charminar. They will escape from their duties at the hospital and patients will not get proper care.
Ms Rani said that government had accorded administrative sanction of Rs 50 lakh for the construction of the outpatient block at the Charminar hospital, but work was stopped on political intervention.
Mr Umesh Agarwal of Ghansi Bazaar, who approached the High Court challenging the decision to shift the college, said the memo was vague. The existing building is sufficient for making alternative arrangements.
The Government Ayurvedic Hospital was originally started in 1951 as an outpatient wing in the old building of the erstwhile Taj Mahal Hotel at Koti to cater to the needs of a private college. Later on, it was taken over by government.
In 1958, this institution was shifted to the present premises and its bed capacity enhanced to 60. Now it is a 180-bed hospital with multidisciplinary units. It has wings of Astanga Ayurveda with all modern facilities.
The Telangana BJP demanded that state government not shift the college from Charminar. A delegation led by former union minister Bandaru Dattatreya met health minister Etala Rajendar at the Secretariat with this demand.
