Malkajgiri MP Malla Reddy on Saturday urged officials of the Local Military Authority (LMA) in Secunderabad to reopen the remaining 14 roads out of the total 25 roads which were closed to civilians in the city's cantonment area over the years.
A delegation led by the Lok Sabha MP met OSD to General Officer-Commanding (GOC), Telangana and Andhra Sub Area (TASA), who assured them that all roads would be opened soon. 11 roads have been opened to the civilians so far.
“We have insisted that army officials reopen the roads as the ministry of defence issued orders to the effect. If the roads are not reopened by Monday, we will take up the issue with Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 29 in New Delhi,” Malla Reddy told ToI.
“There are several sensitive units within the AOC and security is a concern. The various units heads are discussing the issue and we will open all the roads within a week, as we have to re-set the timings for physical training,” an LMA official was quoted as saying.
Members of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) were also present at the meeting.
The decision to reopen the roads comes after a meeting convened by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Members of Parliament and elected Vice Presidents of all 62 Cantonment Boards on May 4, 2018.
This also comes after protests by locals in Secunderabad for several years, with things reaching a tipping point.
However, mild tension prevails as LMA authorities are allegedly not allowing morning walkers and joggers into the Wellington road, leading to AOC, citing security concern.
The meeting with Sitharaman had discussed issues relating to Cantonments, and a detailed review was undertaken by the ministry on various issues, in particular those relating to closure of roads in the Cantonments.
The MoD decided to firstly reopen all closed roads in the Cantonments immediately.