Osmania docs surprised by presence of graves near historical Tamarind tree

The beautification of a century-old tamarind tree threw up some religious surprises for the doctors of Osmania General Hospital. Graves were found at the site which were surprisingly not in sight before the beautification process. 

Superintendent of Osmania hospital, Dr G.V. Murthy, said, "Two years ago, GHMC had decided to beautify the area around the tamarind tree. The work had finally started in February 2017, but it was stopped in the middle. Now I received a complaint from my hospital doctors that they can see graves adjacent to the tree, which they did not see earlier. We have complained to the GHMC about the same as they are the ones who are carrying out the beautification work."

The tamarind tree has a historical value to it. It is said to have saved 150 lives during the 1908 Musi flood, which is why the GHMC has decided to beautify the area. The process was, however, got stalled after the discovery of the graves. It is said that the GHMC officials had landed in trouble previously too when they tried to repair the garden with granite flooring. The caretaker of the adjacent Hazrat Sadath Baba Dargah had objected to it saying that the dead would be insulted if people walked in and out. 

The Osmania administration, however, does not buy the fact. Doctors suspect a different story behind the graves. Meanwhile, GHMC south zone commissioner S. Srinivas Reddy said he is yet to receive a complaint yet. Having said that, he also assured that the graves will not be touched and the development process will surround the tree alone. He further added, "As awareness programmes and heritage walks were conducted near the tree, we conducted development work near the tree."

• telangana
• osmania hospital