Yapral, Bolarum residents cry foul over lack of roads

The Hyderabad Metro Rail project is out of bounds for people of Yapral, Bolarum, Alwal and other colonies that are beyond the Jubilee Bus Station in Secunderabad.

Though the closure of Gough Road has been deferred till May, many roads in Yapral, Bolarum and other areas in the Secunderabad Cantonment are out of bounds for civilians, thanks to the Local Military Authority.

With pothole ridden roads and the prospect of closure of more roads by the Army, residents of the 400 colonies are left in tenterhooks. S Chandrasekhar of Anti Corruption Enforcement Forum says, “People have been living amicably alongside the Army for decades and there is not a single incident pertaining to security. More than 15 lakh people would be affected if the roads are closed.

“Even the alternate road plan is not acceptable. The roads that have been closed should be reopened as they were closed without being proposed in the Secunderabad Cantonment Board,” he adds.

Echoing a similar sentiment, TN Ganguly, an advocate and resident of Swarnaandhra colony says, “The local military authority needs to initiate a proposal and a resolution is to be passed in the Secunderabad Cantonment Board. A public debate is to be initiated. The Army cannot take decisions unilaterally.”

It is alleged that the local Army authorities closed roads without the board resolution u/s Sec 258 of the Cantonment Act 2006. Jitender Surana, a resident of Yapral says, “There is no civil area committee in the SCB and the common man is not allowed to witness the board meetings. The common man is allowed even in the Parliament, but not in SCB meetings! There are committees in Pune, Kanpur and Belgaum but not in Secunderabad.”

In the case of Lakdawala Gate, Chandrasekhar says, “The Army authorities closed the gate without even a notice. Recently, the Allahabad High Court issued orders for reopening the closed roads. Residential Welfare Associations will be moving to court to reopen the closed roads in Secunderabad as well.”