Indo-Pak tension: High security signages send a loud and clear message in Cantt

SECUNDERABAD: A huge signage board marked with three loud words — High Security Alert — at Allahabad Gate near Mahendra Hills caught the attention of thousands of commuters passing through the Secunderabad Cantonment road on Thursday.

Bearing the signature of the station commander, the board mentioned that high security alert would be in place between 10pm and 7am. The signage also talked about ‘restricted entry’ to commuters. Though the day’s developments gladdened the hearts of residents with Islamabad deciding to release IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, the Local Military Authority (LMA) was not ready to take any chances.



Not just defence establishments, civilian roads which witness high volumes of traffic throughout the day would also be kept on high alert mode. LMA has decided to deploy more number of jawans as part of heightened security drill and tension along the Indo-Pakistan border.

Senior officials said the LMA had put up these signages — for the first time — on all the major stretches connecting Secunderabad Cantonment, where most of the defence institutions were housed, to the rest of the city. The 1.8-km long stretch via AOC Circle towards Safilguda Railway Gate, Sainikpuri and Neredmet, roads in the adjoining areas and also Gough Road, Military Hospital and Trimulgherry have also been beefed up with a two-tier security system.

More than 1.5 lakh commuters use the AOC Circle Road to reach their workplaces from Safilguda. “Every defence institution is being guarded by armed soldiers. We have a two-tier security apparatus in the wake of high alert,” a senior LMA official said. In what could give relief to daily commuters passing through civilian roads, the officials promised that the jawans won’t stop them. “We have intensified patrol mainly between 10pm and 7am on all the civilian roads. We will ensure a hassle-free commute to residents and daily commuters. We will keep a constant vigil,” the official added.

There was a mild commotion in the morning when traffic cops stopped commuters heading towards Allahabad Gate for 30 minutes. But later, they were allowed.