Traffic curbs on civilians in Cantonment lifted

LUCKNOW: In a major relief to people living near cantonment as well as those frequenting the area often, ministry of defence has given green signal to open all routes for civilians.
Cantonment Board vice-president Pramod Sharma said on Friday that Thimayya road, Somnath Dwar and Red Eagle Dwar were closed for civilians earlier. Similarly, civilians were not allowed to use Kariappa Marg, Bahadur Shah Marg, Nehru Road and Veer Abdul Hameed Road after 10pm.

The curbs on entry after 10pm used to trouble people coming from Sultanpur road, Alambagh and Telibagh towards Hazratganj.

Sharma along with 25 other vicepresidents of cantonment boards from across the nation submitted a proposal to defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioning the problems caused to civilians due to the restrictions and closure of roads. The proposal said that the rule to close the routes for civilians at night was made by British and needs to be abolished.

People commuting through cantonment areas were quite happy and said that they had to drive 5-10 km extra due to the curbs. They said that the defence ministry decision to lift the curbs would be a great respite and save fuel and time.

“I drive daily from Sultanpur road to Alambagh and cover over 25km. With the opening of routes, I would now go via Bahadur Shah Marg which would save time and money,” said Shantanu, a resident of Sultanpur road who works in Alambagh.

Shadab Ahmad of Mawaiya said, “I go to Arjunganj to give tuitions and had to travel over 28km. My daily commute would now be reduced to 18km.”

Archit, a customer care executive, had to travel 5km extra every night to reach home since he returns around 12am. “When I was returning on Thursday night, I saw civilians commuting through Red Eagle Dwar. When I asked the defence official there, he gave me the good news. We just need to carry our photo identity cards,” said Archit.