HYDERABAD: In a surprise move, the local military authority(LMA) on Tuesday re-opened four of the roads in Secunderabad Cantonment that were earlier closed by them. However, in the absence of any notice or communication from LMA, activists who have been fighting against the closure of roads called for intervention from defence minister to open all other roads too. There are 10 closed roads in the Golf Club area.
Speaking to Express, Federation of Northeastern Colonies of Secunderabad (FNCS) Secretary CS Chandrasekhar said, “All roads should be opened since it was not Secunderabad Cantonment Board which closed the roads but local military who does not have the authority. We request Nirmala Sitharaman to intervene with respect to other public roads,” said CS Chandrasekhar.
“Since 2014, the Army has been taking the law blatantly into their own hands. They gave wrong information to the High Court saying that the roads were categorised as “Unit Line Road”. But to an RTI reply, the army revealed that there is not even a definition to the term,” added Chandrasekhar.
In 2014, the LMA enforced ban on internal roads around AOC centre Secunderabad, that include Entrenchment Road, Wellington Road and Ordnance Road. They imposed restrictions which barred people from commuting in the area between 10 pm and 7.15 am.
Tuesday’s move comes after Sitharaman attended a meeting with Vice Presidents of 62 Cantonment Boards on May 4. The issue of closure of civilian roads within military limits were raised. Following that the MoD sought a detailed report on the matter from the CEOs of Cantonments and Defence Estate Officers of respective areas. The in-charge CEO and DEO of the SCB Vineet S Nair submitted a report to the ministry.