HYDERABAD: The tussle between
Army and civilians in Secunderabad Cantonment area over closure of some roads is getting uglier by the day. On Friday morning, much to the chagrin of citizens, jawans performed exercises on roads that were to be thrown open to civilians. The message was clear — These roads belong to us and there’s no way we will open them to the public.
After jawans blocked roads for a couple of hours and stalled vehicular and pedestrian movement, the Green Sainikpuri Federation of North East Colonies of Secunderabad posted pictures of jawans exercising on roads and tweeted to defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying civilians living in Secunderabad Cantonment area are ‘really scared of the current situation’.
Jeetender Surana, vicepresident of Cantt-India, told TOI, “For past two days, cars are being stopped near Golf Course in Bollarum. They are doing it intentionally to make public pick an argument with them. They are also holding video cameras. Our high impression of the army is changing. This sends the wrong signal. They have closed Eagle Chowk Road. Everywhere on the roads, they are demanding Aadhaar cards and RC books like police. They are not following orders issued by the defence ministry. Instead of ensuring a cordial relationship, they are instigating public.”
The Local Military Authority despite orders from the defence ministry has not completely opened roads, leading to an outcry from civilians. One S Anoop Kumar, who posted pictures of army jawans on his twitter account, wrote, “Armymen doing physical exercises on the main roads disrupting the traffic, holding passersby, causing delay leading to frustration and outburst.”
Policy analyst and academician Mohan Guruswamy on his Facebook post said, “The Army in Secunderabad is leading jawans to exercise on the recently opened roads to disrupt traffic. It is downright silly considering the roads run through vast open grounds, over 300 acres, maintained by the government as training areas. The only entry to jawans here is when they are required to clean and garden the two Golf Courses. In all my years here, I have never seen jawans on these roads except when they are tending to Golf Courses and the vast gardens of bungalows. Even retired officers avail of services of jawans in my neighbourhood. Don't challenge me, I will post the photos. The LMA should stop being childish and try to seek a constructive solution(sic).”
When contacted, defence spokesperson refused to comment while the Local Military Authority was not available for comment.
Meanwhile, retired Lt General HS Panag, in support of the army, tweeted, “Long distance march and 2.5 km/5 km run cannot be done in unit areas. Since times immemorial done on Cantt Roads.”
Jawans performed exercises on roads that were to be thrown open to civilians