The barricade put up on the main thoroughfare outside the Chief Minster’s camp office in Somajiguda will be removed, at last.
It was in these columns a news story was published on May 24 highlighting the problems of vehicular traffic due to the congestion the barricade has created ever since they were erected four years ago during the peak of Telangana movement. Apart from obstructing the free flow of traffic on one of the spinal road in the city, the barricade had become an eyesore to the commuters.
There was a huge response from the readers of The Hindu in support of removal of the barricade since the CM’s camp office already had multi-layered security with 20-feet high walls, electrified fence, round-the-clock manned security towers, speed breaker with spikes to deflate tyres and others. The readers overwhelmingly agreed to The Hindu’s point of view that there is no need for installing such a high barricade.
Responding to the news story, K.T. Rama Rao, leader of Telangana Rasthra Samiti (TRS), the party in waiting to take over the reins of Telangana on June 2, told The Hindu that the office of Chief Minister-designate K. Chandrasekhar Rao had taken up the matter with the police, particularly the traffic wing and suggested them to remove the barricade. “The police officials have assured to remove the barricade in a couple of days,” Mr. Rama Rao said.
It may be noted here that Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao has already decided not to use the building as his camp office.
