KTR seeks Minister Rajnath Singh help to open cantonment roads

Hyderabad: Expressing displeasure over the untold inconvenience caused due to arbitrary road closure by the Military authorities, Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao on Sunday urged the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to intervene on the closure of the roads in cantonment areas and instruct the local authorities not to close roads without following standard operating procedures.

KTR raised the plight of millions of citizens living in north and north-eastern parts of the city due to frequent road blockades without any justifiable reasons by the local Military authorities of the Secunderabad Cantonment area. "These authorities resort to regulate the traffic at their will on certain roads, which are otherwise the 'lifeline' for the people living in these areas and closure of the only connecting road, causes untold misery and hardship to the locals," said Rao.

Rao further said that frequent and mostly sudden and unannounced closure of these important roads such as AOC roads, Gough Road several times had resulted in widespread resentment among the citizens. He recalled that Defence Ministry had issued a 'Standard Protocol' to be followed by the Military authorities in initiating the process for closing of roads in accordance with the provisions of the Cantonment Act, 2006, duly factoring in the emergent security needs of the Army.

As per the orders, the Defence Ministry will have the final word on the closure of roads in Cantonments. Proposals for any road closure will have to be forwarded to the ministry for legal vetting, which will be done after publishing of draft orders in at least three local newspapers and the cantonment board's website, and the objections and suggestions from the local public have been considered. Rao alleged that without following the SOP the authorities shut down four important roads- Allahabad Gate, Gough Road, Wellington Road and Ordnance Road for ten days in July 2018 citing a surge in Covid 19 cases in the City. "It is illogical to try to stop the spread of the pandemic by closing public roads. Residents had been forced to take long detours at a time when public transport is not available. One can imagine the tremendous tragedies that can occur during medical emergencies if such road blockades are allowed.This has simply aggravated the discomfort of the citizens during the pandemic," said KTR.