With just two days remaining before an arterial road in Secunderabad's Cantonment area may be closed for public use, worried citizens have been left in the lurch.
The Local Military Authority (LMA) has sought the closure of the Gough Road from June 1 this year stating that the, "administration, training and security of AOC Centre are being adversely affected due to this road being used as a thoroughfare."
However, the LMA's decision can be postponed by an official communication from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which is nowhere in sight.
The Gough Road is used by more than 1 lakh residents everyday, and connects various parts of Secunderabad with Hyderabad.
If the LMA shuts the road, residents will have to take a detour of as long as 10 km in some cases, while the only other route, via Trimulgherry, will become a traffic nightmare.
According to reports, a delegation led by Chief Advisor to the Telangana government, Rajiv Sharma, met director general defence estates, Delhi and sought a further extension to keep the road open for another six months.
Officials have also said that Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had assured them that the road would stay open, when a delegation met him in Delhi last year.
However, none of this is on paper, leaving citizens worried about the fate of the road from June 1.
The issue has been contentious, ever since the proposal in February 2014, and the deadline for the closure has been extended several times over the past three years, after representations were made to the Centre.
The state government has been promising to build alternate roads, but the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), is yet to begin work.
In fact, it was only last week, that the municipal body submitted a Detailed Project Report (DPR) and sought Rs 115 crore, to lay alternate roads.
“During the survey, the GHMC identified to acquire 24-acre defence land on the periphery of various defence institutions abutting AOC Centre. The identified defence land is vacant and no defence structure will be affected," a source told TOI at the time.
Meanwhile, the LMA continues to remain adamant on closing the Gough Road by May 31, and has said that only emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire brigades will be allowed to use the road.