Hyderabad, Oct 22 : Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday directed officials to complete the construction of the new building of the prestigious Osmania Hospital within two years.

The Chief Minister reviewed the progress of the project at a meeting with top officials at his residence on Wednesday.

He instructed officials to prepare detailed plans for procuring advanced medical equipment suitable for the hospital's future requirements.

The Chief Minister advised engineering officials to design rooms, laboratories, and other structures to accommodate the installation of modern medical technology. Along with the hospital construction, he emphasised that road works around the hospital should be undertaken to ensure that local residents are not inconvenienced.

To accelerate the construction process, he ordered the immediate formation of a coordination committee comprising officials from the Health, Police, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Roads & Buildings, and Electricity Departments.

According to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), this committee will regularly inspect the site and meet once every ten days to identify and resolve issues promptly, ensuring the speedy progress of the works.

The Chief Minister also instructed the Police Department to formulate plans in advance for security and traffic management once the hospital becomes operational. The Roads & Buildings Department was directed to prepare plans for connecting the hospital to the surrounding roads from now on itself.

Revanth Reddy further instructed that for all hospitals and medical colleges currently under construction across Hyderabad and other districts, one officer must be appointed for each project. These officers will be given full responsibility to supervise the works 24x7.

Principal Secretaries V. Seshadri and Srinivas Raju, CM's Secretary Manick Raj, Director General of Police Shivadher Reddy, senior officials Vikas Raj, Christiana Zongthu, Ilambarathi, Musharaf Ali Faruqui, Hyderabad Collector Hari Chandana and others participated in the review meeting.

Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), early this month, launched the construction of the new Osmania General Hospital complex at the Goshamahal Police Stadium site.

Revanth Reddy, on January 31 this year, laid the foundation stone for a new complex worth Rs 2,700 crore.

Spread across 26 acres with a built-up area of 32 lakh square feet, the facility will accommodate 2,000 beds. It will include a hospital block covering nearly 23 lakh sq. ft., an academic block, separate hostels for men and women, a dharamshala, mortuary, utility facilities and a security building.

The new complex is coming up three kilometres away from the existing hospital building on the banks of the Musi River.

The present building of Osmania Hospital has long dealt with issues owing to its dilapidated condition, and there have been demands for several years to construct a new building.

Conceived after the Musi floods of 1908, the Osmania Hospital was built by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad State and named after him. Designed by British architect Vincent Jerome Esch and Nawab Khan Bahadur Mirza Akbar Baig in the Indo-Sarcenic style, it was completed in 1919.

The existing space of 7.5 lakh square feet was proving insufficient for the growing needs of the people.

A proposal by the previous BRS government to demolish the present building of Osmania Hospital to build a new structure was strongly opposed by historians, heritage activists, and concerned citizens. The move was challenged in the High Court.

Last year, the Congress government decided to construct the new building on 32 acres of land of the Goshamahal Police Stadium.

The Chief Minister said the government would protect the present building of Osmania Hospital as a heritage structure. He said the building would be preserved as part of the Musi River Development Project to attract tourists.

/IANS