An open letter to Telangana & Andhra Sub Area Commandant

Respected Sir,

I am thankful to you for your reply and a very well crafted write-up addressing my concerns pointwise. But honestly, I beg to differ with you on several counts. Now please read my reply.

My letter referred to army's blocking/closure of several roads in Secunderabad Cantonment. Your reply, however, refers only to Gough Road in AOC Centre Area, a road which, as of now, is closed only during the nights. There is no mention in your reply of the more than 10 roads that have been totally closed by the army in the Bolarum Yapral area, cutting off east-west access between Bolarum, Alwal and Rajiv Rahadari on one side, and Kowkoor, Yapral, Balaji Nagar areas on the other side. Can you please specify the alternate routes that are available to cater to the residents of these areas?

At several places, your reply refers to these roads being “internal roads” of the army. There are military maps prepared under the authority of the Surveyor General of India available from almost a century ago, in which these very same roads are identified as “Main Roads”, on par with other main roads in and outside the cantonment, and connecting Secunderabad to Bolarum and Hakimpet, and also connecting colonies to the east of the cantonment to the Karimnagar Highway. How and when did these roads identified as “Main Roads” in military maps, become “internal military roads”?

The premise in your reply that it is necessary to close roads to ensure security does not seem to be a very justifiable one. Any resident of the areas abutting Secunderabad cantonment will tell you that the entire flank of the cantonment is unguarded and unlit. Will a troublemaker come in through the main road or the main gate? The flank is over 10 km long, Also and leaving it unguarded seems to be clear indication that the security threat, if any, is not very serioAlso,

security threats face almost every governmental institution today, including public places like railway stations, airports, bus stations, shopping malls, prayer houses, parks, restaurants, etc. Each one of these institutions has found ways to protect itself by boosting on-campus security and checks at the main gate of the office. Nowhere are roads closed to the public to ensure the security of the buildings and establishments situated on those roads.

The recent Pathankot incident, honestly we would not like to talk about it. In fact it left us red-faced. We simple and ordinary minds are still searching for answers as to how 6 ragtag mentally retarded (read brainwashed) fellows who are heavily armed with some of the latest and bulky arms and ammunition, not only found their way into our country, but also gained entry into a sensitive & heavily guarded airforce establishment, held our country on tenterhooks for little over 3 days and also killed 7 of our most promising soldiers (may the souls rest in peace).

The Pathankot airbase is just 30 km from the border, an action zone, and Secunderabad Cantonment is over 2000 km., and a peace zone. Any comparison between Pathankot airbase and Secunderabad Cantonment would be an effort in futility and would only lead to even more uncomfortable questions. The loss of 7 precious lives is irreparable, but the even greater loss is the humiliation we have suffered with which we have to live with for several years to come. My sincere apologies if I have been crude in my expression. But most others who also share the same feeling did not express it and I only took the opportunity to express myself.

You mention at the end of your reply that Hyderabad High Court allowed LMA to close the roads. But your reply is silent on the fact that 3 months after the Hyderabad HC interim orders, MOD issued a letter on 7 Jan 2015 in which it clearly pointed out that military authorities have been closing roads in cantonments without having statutory authority to do so, and pointed out that as per Cantonments Act 2006 only a cantonment board has the power to close a road, that too - after following the procedure of Sec 258 of Cantonments Act 2006. The letter clearly ordered that all roads in cantonments which were closed without following the procedure delineated in Sec 258 of Cantonments Act 2006 must be reopened forthwith.

This letter has led to several roads in other cantonments, which were similarly closed by LMA there, being reopened. The letter was issued by MOD in full knowledge of various court judgements, including that of Hyderabad HC since MOD was a party to these cases. In fact, this letter does not state anything new, but merely points out the correct position as per law. There is no exception given in Cantonments Act 2006 to roads of the type which pass through AOC Centre, Golf Course area etc. in Secunderabad. Nor is any exception of this sort made in the MOD's 7th Jan 2015 letter.

The letter is in fact addressed to the three Service Chiefs, and to a lay person like me it is obvious that these orders are issued to put a stop to arbitrariness and insist on adherence to the due process of law. Why then is LMA in Secunderabad not following these orders, when other cantonment boards are following the very same orders in respect of roads that are similarly situated? If there were any doubts on the matter the same have been extinguished by the Allahabad HC judgments of 18 Nov 2015 in similar cases in Mathura and Allahabad Cantonments.

The HC judgments relied on the 7th Jan 2015 letter to determine the status of the closed roads in Mathura and Allahabad. When the Hyderabad HC judgment has been overtaken by the 7th Jan 2015 MOD letter, an insistence on stressing only the HC judgment and remaining silent about the 7th Jan 2015 letter seems to be an attempt to justify the unjustifiable! As unjustifiable in fact, as insisting that roads being used by the public for over a century are not public roads but “internal” roads. And finally, the cantonment roads are government roads and not the private property of someone. Hence, the comparison is totally ill-conceived and clearly out of place.

Frankly sir, the Army's image among the common people of Secunderabad, who have always had the greatest respect and affection for the armed forces, and who are now at the receiving end of what they perceive as insensitive actions by the army, would be better served if Army were to set an example by following the law, especially after the clear orders given by the MOD and the judgments of Allahabad HC.

With best regards,
Sincerely,

S. Anoop Kumar