Army veterans, historians oppose relocation of Secunderabad war memorial

Retired Army officers and historians protested near Parade Ground against a proposal to relocate Secunderabad’s nearly 80-year-old World War II memorial for an elevated corridor. They urged the cantonment board and HMDA to preserve the memorial at its existing location

Hyderabad: Retired Army officers and city-based historians staged an hour-long peaceful protest at the World War II memorial near Parade Ground on Saturday, urging the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) not to relocate it.

The protest followed a resolution passed by the SCB at a board meeting on October 6 to shift the memorial to make way for a proposed elevated corridor between Gymkhana Grounds and the Outer Ring Road (ORR) at Shamirpet along State Highway-I (Rajiv Rahadari).

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Colonel Sunkara Srinivasa Rao, a retired Army officer and representative of the Akhila Bharatiya Poorva Sainik Seva Parishad, Telangana Prant, condemned the proposal.

In a press release, he said the nearly 80-year-old memorial was not merely a stone structure but a symbol of military history and Secunderabad’s heritage.

Relocation could undermine its historical identity and significance, he said, urging the SCB and HMDA to preserve it at its existing location for future generations.