Hyderabad: Secunderabad Cantonment is facing a multitude of problems such as restrictions on work on existing roads and the construction of alternative roads, improper planning, and the lack of a dedicated dumping yard. However, opposition parties claim that these problems can be solved if Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao keeps his election promises.
Mr Rao, during his 2014 election campaign, had expressed his disapproval of previous governments and blamed them for the sorry state of affairs in the Secunderabad Cantonment.
“The Cantonment is the most ignored Assembly segment in the twin cities. It is plagued by umpteen problems due to the negligence of previous governments. The Seemandhra Chief Ministers should be ashamed of themselves for its backwardness,” he had said at that time.
If Mr Rao in his current position adopts the constituency and oversees its development, the Cantonment will benefit greatly from it. Rivals of the ruling party say that this will result in better accountability, understanding among the State and Defence authorities.
MLC N. Ramachander Rao, the BJP president for Hyderabad, believes that KCR used the adoption card to woo voters from the Cantonment area, a population which largely consists of people from states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala and states from north India. The Cantonment constituency has a total population of nearly 4 lakh, of which 2.5 lakh are voters.
S. Chandrashekar of the Open Secunderabad Cantonment Areas feels that the CM should adopt the constituency to ensure that people’s issues, including the closure and restriction of roads, are resolved. He says that these issues cause major inconvenience to lakhs of citizens.
Members of the opposition parties, local residents want him to shower his blessings on the Cantonment area as well.
