Hyderabad: After a decade-long battle, six arterial roads in the Secunderabad cantonment have been reopened on Sunday, providing major relief to residents of at least four areas and improved access to Rajiv Rahadari and other routes.
The move to reopen roads comes 10 days after the ministry of defence (MoD) wrote to the Secunderabad Cantonment Board and the Local Military Authority (LMA) ordering that six arterial roads, including Richardson Road, Protnee Road, (SCB) Byam Road, Ammuguda Road, and the Albain Road, be reopened, allowing vehicles to pass by roads that have been closed for more than a decade.
As a result, the walls and grills that earlier served as road closure barricades were removed on Sunday, and when word spread, residents took random drives through these routes.
On April 20, the defence ministry wrote to the SCB and the LMA that the roads be reopened immediately. SCB chief executive officer Madhukar Naik told Deccan Chronicle that the orders needed time to implement since they required communication with and cooperation from the LMA. He stated that they will soon submit a compliance report to the MoD on the matter.
The opening of the roads means that residents in Alwal, Bolaram Yapral and Malkajgiri will have better access to Rajiv Rahadari and other routes. The fight against road closure in the SCB has been an uphill battle and a contentious issue for years, with several meetings held between Central and state officials with no solution in sight. Residents were outraged and denounced the road closures, holding protest marches and signature campaigns in the past.
Telangana minister K.T. Rama Rao had even threatened to cut off water and electricity supply if officials continue to take arbitrary and impractical decisions such as closure of roads.
Several residents applauded the decision to reopen the roads, which they said had made commuting difficult. "The road restrictions have been a major source of frustration for many years. The reopening of the roads will reduce our travel time and even commute cost," Malkajgiri resident Hamsa Veni R, a resident of Malkajgiri.
“These roads are much better and well maintained; we hope they stay that way and that other ones are developed soon," Ramalinga B. added.
Jeetender Surana, general secretary of Secunderabad Cantonment Citizens Welfare Association, called the decision to reopen roads “a great victory after decades of struggle” that involved the police and court cases and more. "We hope that 16 more roads in the cantonment will be opened soon, which will help civilians a great deal," he said.
