gate cs it

The reopening of gates in thegate cs it Secunderabad cantonment for passage of civilians has become a contentious issue. Last week, photos emerged of an army training drill blocking the road for civilians; the army personnel inside the cantonment seem clearly unhappy with the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) directive to reopen the roads to civilians. The civilians for their part are also frustrated – before the gates were reopened, many of them have had to take as much as an 8 km detour to reach the other side.

But while the mistrust brews – why were the roads closed in the first place, and what exactly are the issues that both sides have?

Gulshan, the wife of a veteran and a resident of Sainikpuri, has been a long-time proponent of reopening the closed roads, despite having access to the roads herself. Speaking to TNM, she argues that the rift is a result of the issue being argued on emotional grounds rather than legal.

“This rift is because no one is trying to understand the legal aspects of the issue. It is an emotional response. The law should be equal for everyone, whether we are in uniform or out of it. Whether we are a blue collar worker or a white collar one, the law of the land should be the same and we should all follow it,” she says.

TNM spoke to several officers manning the gates in the cantonment, all of whom spoke in their personal capacity and made it clear that they were not representing the stand of the Local Military Authority (LMA).

Inside Secunderabad cantonment

An armed soldier he watches civilians warily pass through a large gate that was reopened after half a decade. Civilians stop their car at the gate, show their Aadhaar or PAN card as identity proof, and then proceed into the military area to get to the other side.

"We have no problem opening the roads to the public, but they should also be considerate of our needs and cooperate with us," he says. Security has been beefed up inside the cantonment ever since the MoD issued a directive to reopen several gates.  https://www.toppersnotes.com/product-category/ies-gate/gate-csit/

The directive came after a meeting convened by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Members of Parliament and elected Vice Presidents of all 62 Cantonment Boards on May 4, 2018.

While some members of the public have objected to the checks carried out by army officials, an officer manning the gate that connects Rashtrapati Nilayam to Rajiv Rahadari near Bolarum says that it is a necessity.

"We have many establishments here that need security. If we don't check the ID card of people who enter, what guarantee is there that a militant or terrorist won't infiltrate us?" he asks.

"Most civilians cooperate with us, but it is just a few of them who come to pick a fight with us. Our job is to after all protect them and the nation, so it feels bad even if a few people out of every hundred, object to the checking," he adds.

However, residents who have been fighting for the roads to be reopened contest this claim.