Reopen all six closed roads, FNEC demands SCB

Federation of North Eastern Colonies reiterated their objection to closure of six roads under Secunderabad Cantonment Board and have demanded immediate reopening of the said roads

Hyderabad: The Federation of North Eastern Colonies (FNEC) on Friday reiterated their objection to closure of six roads under Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) and have demanded immediate reopening of the said roads.

The FNEC, which has spearheaded protests against the roads closures, said that any new committee established to study road closure issue should realize that such an act was illegal and was causing lot of hardships to commuters, travelling daily from North-Eastern parts of the city to Secunderabad and Hyderabad through the Cantonment.

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“We have come to know that the roads closure issue will be looked-into by a Committee appointed by Ministry of Defense. We are hoping that this Committee will put a stop to illegal road closures and get them reopened,” FNEC said.

The SCB road closure notices, under Section 258 of Cantonments Act 2006, were issued in October, 2022. However, the six roads were already closed for years before that notice. There is no power under Sec 258 to ‘regularize’ closure of roads years after they were closed, FNEC said.

If roads were to be closed, then they have to be first reopened, all traffic including RTC buses, public transport, bicycles, pedestrians, etc, should be restored and then fresh notices seeking public objections and suggestions, should be released, FNEC said.

Road closure was no solution for increasing security. Citizens on a daily basis face inconvenience, as they struggle to reach places of study, worship, work, because of roads closure. The Federation hoped that the Committee would put a stop to needless harassment of citizens, and reopen all closed roads immediately, a press release said.