Army attempts to seal roads draw flak

Residents of Secunderabad have grown tired of army authorities' repeated attempts to curb their movement by sealing off roads and thoroughfares.

This, after they got wind that the state government would be constructing an alternate road to travel from the north eastern part of the city. Even though the ‘alternate road’ proposal has been doing the rounds for several years now, it is yet to strike the right chords.

“We think that it could be a part of the state government’s idea of having link roads. However, these alternative roads have to cater to all the areas, and not just Malkajgiri. It must be used by people of Kapra, Yapral, Sainikpuri, and other areas in the north-eastern part of the city,” CS Chanrasekhar, secretary, Federation of North-Eastern Colonies of Secunderabad (FNECS) told Deccan Chronicle.

He said if the roads are to be usurped by the army, then they must give back the same amount of land for developing alternate roads. “They cannot close 20-odd roads and give one alternate route,” he added.

Officially speaking, the question of having alternate roads is a long-drawn battle, for which places were already identified.

“Laying new roads is not just about identifying new areas. There are other issues like the monetary compensation that has to be given to the army, and who would do it. The second issue was that they want an alternate piece of land-matching with what they are parting,” said Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) vicepresident, Ramakrishna.