Secunderabad Cantonment loses open spaces to H-CITI infrastructure projects

Secunderabad Cantonment's Bowenpally playground is set to lose nearly half an acre for an elevated corridor under H-CITI. The development follows the partial loss of Trimulgherry football ground, raising concerns among local sports groups and youngsters about shrinking practice spaces.

Hyderabad: Secunderabad Cantonment is losing its vital lung spaces, including an iconic football ground at Trimulgherry and a decades-old sports playground, to make way for the infrastructure projects taken up under Hyderabad City Innovative and Transformative Infrastructure (H-CITI).

The historic Cantonment Playground at new Bowenpally X Roads is set to be demolished by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) to build the proposed elevated corridor linking Paradise Circle to the ORR Shamirpet on National Highway-44.

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The development marks the second major blow to the community spaces here, following the partial destruction of the Trimulgherry football ground, which already sacrificed its essential lung space for another elevated corridor running between Gymkhana Grounds and Dairy Farm along State Highway-1 (Rajiv Rahdari) under H-CITI.

For decades, both the Bowenpally and Trimulgherry grounds served as favoured spots for the local sports community. These have hosted countless high-stakes tournaments and provided daily practice spaces for football, cricket, and volleyball. These vibrant fields have nurtured raw talent, producing hundreds of competitive players who went on to represent the region with pride.

According to SCB officials, nearly half an acre of the two-acre playground at Bowenpally would be affected by road widening for the elevated corridor.

“Loss of this Cantonment playground would deprive local youngsters and aspiring athletes of space to train and pursue their sporting ambitions,” former vice president of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board and also vice president of All India Cantonment Boards, Jampana Pratap told ‘Telangana Today’.

Cantonment Sports Association Bowenpally representative, Pratap, has sought the SCB’s intervention to reimburse Rs 20 lakh spent on modernising and improving a playground, including new weightlifting and powerlifting gyms, a compound wall and fencing. He requested it in a representation to SCB chief executive officer Arvind Kumar Dwivedi.

Local youngsters practising sports at the playground said its loss would be a heart-wrenching blow for the community, depriving aspiring athletes of a space to develop, pursue dreams of competing, and build their sporting futures.