Army Ignores Telangana Government’s Plea, Notifies Shut Down Of Gough Road

Hyderabad: Despite the assurance from the Defence Ministry to lift restrictions on Gough road at AOC Centre, the Army has notified closure of of Gough Road effective from May 31. However, emergency vehicles will be permitted to pass through the road.

Lakhs of commuters, who commute daily from northern part of the city to Secunderbad, are now affected due to the closure. The issue has been hotly debated with residents of Malkajgiri, Safilguda and Neredmet formed associations demanding that the Gough line should be open. The Army had been insisting on the closure of the road for security purposes.

According to an RTI report, six of the nine closed roads in the military area are not A1 Military roads. The six roads that were closed by the Army were ‘C’ class Cantonment-funded roads which can be used by civilians.

Meanwhile, the Telangana government is negotiating the land with the Central government to lay entrenchment road from RK Puram to Mahendra Hills so that the civilian traffic will be eased. The GHMC is learnt to have been working on project reports which will be completed soon.

Local military authorities have set up a signboard notifying the closure of Gough road 20 ahead of the stipulated date.

However, the Telangana government and the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) are maintaining silence over the development.