KARACHI: The Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) on Saturday organised an event to mark the completion of 100 years of one of its most spectacular buildings called OPD-14 located on the Civil Hospital Karachi premises.

Built exactly a century ago by a Karachi philanthropist, Seth Goverd­handhas Motilal Mohatta, the building initially functioned as an eye ward of the CHK and continued in that role till the 1990s when the SIUT took it over.

“Now the SIUT runs various outdoor facilities in the building,” said an official.

The SIUT management said Seth Mohatta hailed from Marwar, now in India, and finally settled in Karachi. He had a penchant for building grandiose structures full of aesthetic sense. Some such historical buildings in Karachi are Mohatta Palace and Hindu Gymk­hana.

To commemorate the 100-year journey of the building, the SIUT hosted a reception and paid rich tribute to late Mohatta.

The event was attended by people from various walks of life, including conservationists, town planners and architects. Also present were the trustees and board of governors of SIUT.

Director SIUT, Prof Adibul Hasan Rizvi, welcomed the guests and audience, saying the OPD block could see 30 patients at a time along with facilities of radiology, small laboratory and preserve the record of 60,000 patients.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2017