HYDERABAD: Five out of the six arterial roads in Secunderabad Cantonment, which have been out of bounds for civilians for over a decade, will be reopened soon. In a written communication to the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) and the Local Military Authority (LMA), the Ministry of Defence (MoD) ordered that these roads be opened with immediate effect.
The roads that will be reopened are Ammuguda Road (500 metres), Byam Road (500 metres), Albain Road (700 metres), Protenee Road (500 metres) and Richardson Road (300 metres). However, no decision has been taken regarding Empress Road (900 metres).
Secretary of Federation of North Eastern Colonies of Secunderabad (FNECS) CS Chandrashekar and Secretary of Secunderabad Cantonments Citizens Welfare Association (SCCiWA) Jeetendra Surana hoped that the LMA will follow the latest MoD orders.
‘’We are happy to know that the MoD issued orders to reopen five roads. We are delighted that these roads will actually be reopened. We hope that these orders will not be ignored,” Chandrasekhar said.
Compliance report by May 4
The roads were open for over 150 years before they were closed for civilians in 2014 for security reasons and they continued to remain closed despite a decision taken by the MoD in 2018 to reopen all closed roads in all Cantonments. In its orders, the MoD also called for a compliance report by May 4, 2023.