HYDERABAD: The Secunderabad Cantonment Board held a meeting on Friday to discuss the road closure notices for six roads it had issued in October 2022, which prompted vehement opposition from several quarters of the society.
The discussions were held with a committee appointed by the Ministry of Defence to look into the issue. The Federation of North Eastern Colonies (FNCES), which had opposed the closure of roads, hopes that the committee will put an end to ‘these illegal road closures’ and reopen all roads.
Speaking with the TNIE, some members of FNCES said that Section 258 was the only applicable law for closing an open road. “However, the six roads that were mentioned in the October 2022 notice had already been closed for several years. There is no provision for regularising the closure. Hence, the road closure notices were illegal,” they said.
“If the roads are to be closed, they must first be reopened to all traffic, including RTC buses, public transport, bicycles, and pedestrians, as ordered by the MoD in a May 2018 order. Only then can new notices be issued to ask for public objections and suggestions,” they added.
The notices mentioned that the Hyderabad High Court had permitted road closure in 2014. However, FNCES contents that the claim is misleading. “The HC orders were superseded by the road reopening orders issued by the MoD in May 2018.” The MoD, being a part of the 2014 cases, issued the reopening orders, with the only exception being made for Srinagar Cantonment. No other cantonment, including Secunderabad, was given an exception.
FNCES hopes that the committee will put an end to the daily inconvenience faced by thousands of citizens, including schoolchildren and the elderly, whose access to places of study, worship, and work is blocked by the road closure. The federation hopes that all closed roads will be reopened immediately, bringing an end to this needless and ongoing harassment of citizens.