Hyderabad: Pressure mounts on candidates to make road curbs row,merger main poll planks

Hyderabad: As political campaigning enters its final stretch, the longstanding demands regarding the opening of closed roads, road restrictions, and the merger of civilian areas of theSecunderabad Cantonment Board with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) emerge as prominent topics among both candidates and local residents. Urging the candidates to prioritise these perennial issues, the locals seek to ensure their inclusion as primary agenda items in the electoral segment.

The General election by-polls will be held in Secunderabad Cantonment, due to the sudden demise of MLA G Lasya Nanditha in a road accident in February. The key aspirants of SCB, including BRS candidate Lasya Niveditha and Congress candidate N Sriganesh, are leaving no stone unturned to reach the locals in every nook corner of the segment. During their engagements with the local populace, residents are urging authorities to address road closure issues. Additionally, they express frustration over arbitrary restrictions imposed by the local military authorities, causing inconvenience to commuters without valid reasons. Along with the locals, even the aspirants are assuring that once they come into power, they will put the merger issue on the fast track and try to solve the road restriction issue by raising the issue with Defence Ministry.

Observers noted that during a recent public meeting, the Congress MLA candidate pledged to the Cantonment residents that upon assuming office, he would prioritise the prompt merger of civilian areas within the Cantonment. Additionally, he vowed to address road restriction issues. The BRS MLA candidate made similar promises regarding these pressing matters.

“For decades, we have lived in the Cantonment area without witnessing any significant infrastructural development. Moreover, out of the 25 roads in the Cantonment, only 20 are open, and even among those, restrictions are imposed by the LMA without proper notification.

This situation severely restricts the movement of pedestrians and morning walkers, who are unable to traverse Cantonment lanes freely. Furthermore, road closures compel us to take lengthy detours, causing inconvenience to residents. Our frustration grows as we continuously complain to the relevant officials without seeing any tangible results. Addressing these issues seems feasible only if the State government intervenes and engages in dialogue with the central government. We have approached various political parties, urging them to prioritise the long-standing merger issues as the main agenda in this electoral segment,” said S Nikhil, a resident of SCB.

Sanki Ravinder Babu, another resident of Cantonment said, “The Cantonment lacks proper development in various aspects, such as building regulations, road closures, and restrictions. Meaningful progress can only occur through a merger, facilitating necessary improvements. This can only be accomplished when the concerns are raised during the Cantonment Board meetings by the sitting MLA. Therefore, when approached by political aspirants, we strongly encourage them to prioritise the merger issue as the main agenda during discussions.”