Date:11/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/11/stories/2008081165090600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Sanatorium loses its sheen

N. Rahul

The TB Sanatorium in Anantagiri Hills wears a deserted look following a radical shift in the treatment programme

- Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

NEAR EMPTY: A ward in the TB Sanatorium at Anantagiri hills in Ranga Reddy district.

VIKARABAD: Once a sanatorium to treat patients of tuberculosis (TB) on the picturesque Anantagiri hills here which used to be crowded, now wears a deserted look following a radical shift in the treatment programme.

The introduction of the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) seven years ago has made all the difference. Since the programme mandates that treatment be taken to the doorstep of patients, the sprawling premises with lush green cover and hardly any buildings has received fewer patients. The sanatorium underwent a further change in its basic features three years later when it was converted into the Government TB and Chest Diseases Hospital to treat patients of all chest diseases, including TB. With this, the chapter of sanatoria for treatment of TB patients exclusively in a natural environment came to an end in the State.

The sanatorium straddles the Vikarabad – Tandur highway on an elevated plain and came up over 160 acres during the Nizam’s rule in 1946.