Board members demand report on SCB roads

The issue of roads closure in Secunderabad Cantonment rocked Thursday’s cantonment board meeting. Elected members demanded a status report on the roads, to which army representatives responded saying the issue was being dealt at a higher level.

The board members offered to take stock of the situation on the ground, to determine if the Defence Ministry’s orders to open roads are being implemented. Civilians affected by the closure have claimed only some of the closed roads have been reopened.

Representatives of the Congress party held a protest at the SCB office demanding that all roads be opened. Congress spokesperson M. Krishank and Congress Malkajigiri Assembly constituency in-charge N. Sridhar, among others, were detained by the police. Defence Ministry’s order dated May 20 directed that all public roads closed without following the procedure laid out in Cantonments Act, be opened. The ministry also stated that the local military authority will monitor traffic for 30 days after the opening of roads, following which a decision for each road’s closure will be taken.

The meeting also saw a heated exchange between board members and the Hyderabad DRO on the issue of layout permissions. The ward members said the board cannot be stopped from issuing permits on GLR 243 and survey number 74 as NOCs were issued by revenue authorities in the past for layouts approved by the board.