Hyderabad: Army's walls stay on 3 roads
Blockade at Lakdawala gate, Ammuguda, RK Puram underpass continues.
Hyderabad: The Local Military Authority has not yet removed the walls it built at any of the three locations in the Secunderabad Cantonment — Lakdawala Gate, Ammuguda and RK Puram underpass.
The Army has not clarified why the walls were built and why it has not demolished them after the defence ministry’s orders to reopen all roads in the cantonment.
The Army’s blockade means thousands of residents are forced to travel longer distances and spend more on fuel.
The wall on the RK Puram underpass was built a year ago. This road belongs to the state government and is not SCB property. It connects Sainikpuri and ECIL with Trimulgherry and Secunderabad.
Mrs Gulshan Banboat, a senior citizen of Sanikpuri, who has conducted 14 shramdaans against the illegal wall, said, “The law is the same for everybody and it has to be followed. The Army cannot get away with doing illegal things.”
She said there was only an officer’s mess in the area, for which more than three lakh people were inconvenienced. Asked about the wall, SCB vice-president J. Rama Krishna said, “We have approached the Army. regarding the wall on government land. The LMA said it will look into it but nothing has happened so far.”
Residents are angry over the LMA’s reluctance to obey defence ministry orders. Mr Mohan Guruswamy, a resident of Yapral, said, “The defence ministry has asked to reopen all the blocked roads in cantonments. But the LMA has not obeyed the order. Will they obey the orders or not? Where is the proof that they have obeyed? That is an act of insubordination and strict disciplinary action should be taken immediately.”
Mr Samuel Sudhakar, a resident of Sainikpuri, said about the Lakdawala gate: “This road was always open. It connects Bolarum, Yapral and Ammuguda. The road was primarily used by the students of Valerian Grammar School. Because of the blockade, residents are forced to travel 6-8 km more.”
The Lakdawala gate connects the Rajiv Rahadari to Tirusingh Marg, while the Ammuguda road connects RSI Club to the Lakdawala gate.