Hyderabad: MoD awaits panel report on roads closure in Cantonment

Hyderabad: The opening of the closed roads in the Secunderabad Cantonment Board will be delayed further as the Ministry of Defence is waiting for the recommendations of the committee formed by the centre recently. The SCB held a board meeting on Friday and confessed that unless the committee submits its report, no relief will be there for commuters.

According to the SCB officials, the final report on the opening of roads is pending for two months, and the decision was supposed to be taken in January but was postponed to February 10, and in the board meeting, it was informed that MoD's decision is final on the road closure issue. The committee may hold a meeting next week on the same, and based on the decision, a resolution would be tabled in the next SCB's board meeting. Apart from the road closure issue, various development activities that include building permissions, developing children's parks, taking up the laying of road and underground drainage, and drinking water pipeline works were discussed at the meeting. Board has planned to take up pending development works very soon.

"In that regard, Rs 6.89 crore has been sanctioned for roads and maintenance works, Rs 4 crore for laying an underground drainage pipeline, and Rs 1 crore for maintenance of the old buildings and it was decided in slum areas especially at Mudfort, individual water pipeline will be laid. In the board, they have also deliberated in view of the upcoming summer season, there is a need for 8.2 million gallons per day unlike the existing 6.3 million gallons per day from Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage board" said senior officer, SCB.

Highlighting the road closure issue, Madukar Naik, CEO, SCB, said, "In the month of October last year, SCB officials have issued a public notice on closure of six roads that include Ammuguda , Byam, Albion and others and invited objections. Hundreds of petitions flooded to SCB, urging them to reopen these six roads. Immediately after that MoD has formed a committee and the committee received representations on a total of 39 roads across the country and urged them to reopen them. Out of which six roads are in Secunderabad.

Stretching about the opening C land road, Ramakrishna, nominated ward member, SCB said "There is no reason of closing the C land road, as it does not belong to the army and urged the officials to open it immediately. Inspite of MoD passing the orders for opening the closed roads in 2018, they remain closed.

Meanwhile, Members of the Federation of North Eastern Colonies of Secunderabad, a civic body has been fighting for the reopening of the 21 roads including six roads in SCB have expressed displeasure over keeping the issue boiling and urged the committee to reopen the roads