‘Gough Road closure only after alternative’

There's some relief for Gough Road commuters who were worried about the imminent closure of the road.

Municipal minister K.T. Rama Rao and Malkajgiri MP Malla Reddy met defence minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi on Thursday and requested him for an extension for Gough Road, which links Secunderabad with northeastern areas of the city.

The MP said the closure will be put off and the route will remain open untill alternative roads are built.

Mr Reddy said, “We have requested the defence minister to order local military authorities to keep all roads in AOC open until alternative roads are in place. Night restrictions will continue as usual. The minister assured us that an order will be sent to local military authorities to extend the deadline of May 31 for Gough Road. Also, the LMA has agreed to give 100 acres of land in the Secunderabad Cantonment areas and in exchange, the state government will give them 500 acres in Vikarabad district of TS. The land exchange is in final stage.”

Assuring the public, he reiterated: “Under no circumstances will Gough Road be closed, without an alternative in place.”

However no new deadline was announced.

The meeting with the defence minister was to facilitate expansion of cantonment roads in Secunderabad. Mr Rao requested Mr Jaitley to direct the defence secretary to hand over cantonment land to the government to expand cantonment roads.