Hyderabad: The Union defence ministry on Sunday directed the reopening of all roads closed by the Local Military Authority (MLA) in all 62 cantonments, including in Secunderabad, bringing relief to lakhs of civilians who were having to take long detours to reach their destinations.
The order issued by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman marked the end of a four-year-long battle waged by residents, for whom the arterial roads lay in the Secunderabad Cantonment and were closed by the LMA.
As many as 16 roads were closed by the LMA in Secunderabad; the night-time restrictions on four other roads were lifted recently. Residents were uncertain if the order would be limited to the AOC roads and would not cover the closed roads in the TS and Andhra sub area in Bolarum and Yapral, which account for nearly 80 per cent of the closed roads.
Officials were yet to clarify on the orders. The order followed the meeting that Ms Sitharaman had held on May 4 with representatives of all cantonments. It said Ms Sitharaman had discussed the issue with Army chief General Bipin Rawat and defence secretary Sanjay Mitra. For the residents of SCB, it marked the end of an effort that saw many signature campaigns and shramdhans and repeated knocking on the doors of the LMA.
