Hyderabad: A month after the defence ministry ordered the opening of five arterial roads in the Secunderabad Cantonment, travel woes still plague commuters. Of the many complaints, the lack of public transport is a major one.
"Buses, public transport, pedestrians, bicycles, etc., are still not being allowed on the roads. Earlier, buses on Route No. 211M and others would run on Richardson Road to the CRPF, and other destinations before the road was closed. Shared autorickshaws that would run from Lakdawala towards Balajinagar and Yapral were a huge relief for commuters," said Jeetender Surana, a resident of Ward 8, Bolaram.
Another issue has been the local military authority (LMA) asking to check the ID of all those use these roads. "Why should the public be harassed by being asked for IDs, and, sometimes, very irrelevant questions about where we are headed to, in the name of security concerns or protocol," asked Keertana Raj M., a Yapral resident.
Residents expressed disappointment that the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) meeting held on May 10 did not discuss the issue, though it was mentioned as on the agenda under the title 'Reopening of five roads, ordered by MoD'.
SCB CEO Madhukar Naik said that talks with the LMA were on to figure out ways to ensure maximum ease of transport through the newly open roads. "Public transport can probably be taken up, once a request is made to board. We can hold talks with all stakeholders. As far as I know, no such request has been placed,” Naik said.
On the checking of ID cards, the SCB CEO said, “it's a matter of security and it shouldn't be an issue as everyone carries an ID of some kind."
He said adding that Richardson Road and Protnee Road were being repaired. The correspondent noted that a second wall and the wooden gate on Richardson Road were still not removed, though other ends of the road are open. Only half of the Ammuguda Road wall is demolished, and Byam Road is being controlled by closing the gate at Eagle Chowk.
While a couple of signboards have been placed about the road openings, commuters wanted more boards with details be placed in specific junctions. Some of these spots include one at the Rajiv Rahadari, to direct traffic bound for Yapral, Kowkoor, Sainikpuri, Ammuguda, A.S. Raonagar, ECIL and Malkajgiri, towards Protnee Road and Richardson Road, and another at the Ammuguda junction and Eagle Chowk, directing traffic bound for Rajiv Rahadari, Medchal Road and Shamirpet, to Ammuguda Road and Byam Road.
