LMA at it again, cites Covid & shuts road in Secunderabad

Secunderabad: The road leading towards Gough Road was once again closed in the evening on Friday. People were caught unawares and had to take a U-turn near Marredpally. Disinfection was the reason cited for the road closure by the jawans manning the gates.

Ravi L, a resident of Safilguda, said, "For the past three weeks without any notice, the Local Military Authority (LMA) has been closing roads on and off. At times, the roads are open in the morning hours but in the evening they are closed." He further added, "At least if we know that it would be closed, we would take another road."

A member of the Federation of North Eastern colonies of Secunderabad (FNECS) said, "No reason is given in certain places. How can the present health scare affect anyone who is not assembling at a place? People just travel in vehicles through the cantonment."

The Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) has been reduced to a mute spectator. As per the Section 258 of Cantonment Act, 2006, the closure of roads needs an approval from the board along with suggestions from the people residing in the cantonment.

Sridharan Nair, a retired railway employee and resident of Anadbagh, flayed, "I have been following the road closure issues for several years now. The Defence ministry too has issued instructions to the 62 cantonments in the country to reopen the roads."

Riaz Khan, a content writer, said, "We travel all the way just to take a detour. A great deal of time, money and energy is wasted. I had to return from Marredpally and travel all the way to Kharkhana via Secunderabad Club to reach Sainikpuri." Not just this, due to the closed roads, the traffic on Kharkhana Road increases manifold," he added. There are still roads in Bolarum that are out of bounds for people.