The Medico lane of Hyderabad

A lane in Abhinav Nagar Colony in Padma Rao Nagar, has become an epicenter for scores of students tirelessly preparing to crack entrance exams

Hyderabad: Fostering the future generation of the country’s medical health professionals, a lane in Abhinav Nagar Colony in Padma Rao Nagar, has become an epicenter for scores of students tirelessly preparing to crack entrance exams.

Dressed in their most comfortable PJs, hundreds of young graduates can be found here shuttling between their hostels, coaching centers, and reading rooms. Any conversation you happen to overhear in this lane, will also most probably have something to do with the human anatomy.

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With more than ten girls’ hostels on either side of the lane, each housing around 60 students, and many other boys’ hostels spread across Padmarao Nagar Colony and Musheerabad areas, the entire neighborhood today is filled with would-be doctors.

“When I first came to this area in 2019 to prepare for my Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE), there weren’t as many students as we see today,” says Dr. Sai Teja Peddineni, who has come back to prepare for the upcoming NEET PG exams.

Teja hails from Ongole in Andhra Pradesh and has completed his MBBS from Zaporizhzhya State Medical University in Ukraine. He believes that the reason for the influx of almost a thousand students is the reputed coaching centers in the area.

“Although there are other coaching institutes in Ameerpet and Mehdipatnam, Dr. Bhatia’s and DAMS are two of the oldest medical coaching institutes in the city. They’re both located in this area and that is why most students prefer to live here while they prepare for the exams,” he explains.

Apart from these both, Wisdom Medical Academy and DocTutorials are also located in the same area. This lane is also just a stone’s throw away to Gandhi Hospital where students do their internship.

“Many years back a lot of families lived here. But as the demand for hostels grew, homeowners rented out their spaces. All businesses here run pretty well. I myself earn a comfortable living,” says a small business owner who has lived in the area since his childhood.

Fulfilling the requirements of these students, multiple reading rooms and food courts like Secret Kitchen and Oh My Shawarma have also sprung up in the locality. From being just a piece of agricultural land, then a quiet residential colony to what is now a bustling habitat of hardworking doctors; this neighbourhood has evolved exponentially over the years.