Army blockade: resident asks HC to step in

Why were defence ministry orders not followed, asks Bolarum resident Pankaj Sethi

May 04, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:39 am IST - HYDERABAD:

A resident of Yapral has moved the High Court seeking relief from Army blockade of roads wit-hin Bolarum and AOC area, contending that orders from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to open these roads had been not been followed.

Bolarum resident Pankaj Sethi has asked for opening of 15 roads that were closed in recent years by the Army, citing security concerns.

Mr. Sethi contended that closed roads were public roads within cantonment area.

Earlier this year, the MoD had ordered that public roads within the cantonment be opened. If they have to be closed for security reasons, only cantonment boards have the authority to do so, following procedure laid out in the Cantonments Act. “The orders of the ministry were to open all public roads which were closed without following due procedure or for reasons other than security. These orders were not heeded, and when I sought to know why, I was told the roads are on defence lands and cannot be open to public,” Mr. Sethi said.

Mr. Sethi had sought to know through an RTI query when the roads would be opened as per MoD orders.

The local military establishment responded that the roads were internal military roads and the order did not apply to such roads.

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