FNCS demands opening of all Secunderabad Cantonment roads

SECUNDERABAD: The public notice issued by the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) regarding the closure of six roads on Wednesday, was not well received by the locals. Green Sainikpuri, a Federation of North-eastern Colonies of Secunderabad said that it was a brilliant attempt by SCB to whitewash the illegalities of the past.

The Federation claimed that the roads were already closed illegally and arbitrarily, without following the procedure specified in the Cantonments Act of 2006. "In fact, many more roads (more than 21) were also closed illegally," said CS Chandrashekhar, Secretary, Federation of Northeastern Colonies of Secunderabad (FNCS).

The Secretary said, "the procedure for road closure in the Act allows for citizens to voice objections. A multi-tier decision-making process is specified so that roads are not closed arbitrarily. We highlighted these points and the Raksha Mantri examined the matter. In May 2018, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued orders to reopen all such illegally closed cantonment roads all over the country but all roads in Secunderabad cantonment remain closed."

The notice is an attempt to pretend that these six roads were open and the procedure has been followed to close them for the first time, FNCS exclaimed.

The six roads that are proposed for closure are Ammuguda Road (500 metres), Byam Road (500m), Alain Road (700m), Empress Road (900m), Protenee Road (500m), Richardson Road (300m). The citizens claim that not just these six roads but over 21 roads were illegally closed for several years.

These roads connect Bolarum/Alwal to Yapral/Balajinagar/Sainikpuri easing the commute for civilians. "Commuting to several places such as Loyola Academy, St Anns, Trinity Church, Catt Hospital, Lakdawala Bus Stop had become difficult after the closure of the roads," exclaimed the locals. Walls have also been built across Ammuguda and Richardson roads, they added.

FNCS protesting the notice said that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued in 2018 should be followed and all roads in the Secunderabad Cantonment including A1 should be opened. "The Local Military Authority (LMA) must take the approval of the MoD before closing the road," they retorted.