SCB opens gates of chaos for students as schools reopen
The authority is also bound to inform about such closure through prior press notification.
Hyderabad: The first day for the students of Valerian Grammar and Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan School on Wednesday turned out troublesome owing to the newly constructed gate at Trinity Church. School buses and commuters came to a standstill as the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) failed to notify the public about this construction.
This gate is an addition to the list of several other gates built previously by the Secunderabad Cantonment Board which have been clamping down the movement of the residents of the area. As a result, residents in and around the Secunderabad cantonment have been forced to take long detours because of such constructions in the cantonment area.
As per section 258 of the Cantonment Act, 2006, no public road shall be closed by the Local Military Authority (LMA) without consulting the local public. The authority is also bound to inform about such closure through prior press notification.
Residents alleged that the army has been taking up such constructions without following the due process. Dr Shri Nivias from Federation of North Eastern Colonies said,
“The army exhibits no professionalism whatsoever when it comes to dealing with civilians. They check our ID cards every time we pass through these roads, and I find that pretty unnecessary.”
Another resident added, “School buses have to be allowed to pass. School children pose no threat whatsoever to anybody. The authorities, however, just want to harass us by prohibiting us from using public property.”
J. Ramakirshna, vice president, Secunderabad Cantonment Board, said, “We shall remove the gate immediately if we find that it's not within army land limits, however, for all constructions that fall in the A1 category of army land, we shall report to the Ministry of Defense.” He did not comment on the lack of public notification prior to the construction of the gate. “Even if we do take a detour of 8 km, the alternate route will not be able to handle heavy traffic, thereby increasing the likelihood of traffic jams,” he added.
Residents, however, are demanding that the gate should be reopened immediately.