Why KTR Rao is warning of cutting water and electricity to Army cantonments in Telangana

A huge row erupted in Telangana after KTR Rao issued a warning that the state government would cut power and water supply in cantonment areas because “it is not fair to close the roads whenever they want”. Notably, this isn’t the first time that the minister has trained his guns at the military cantonments. In 2021, he had termed the closure of roads by the Army “highly objectionable and illegal”. We take a look at what prompted the Telangana minister to make such a comment and why has it snowballed into a larger issue. KTR’s ire towards military cantonments The drama erupted after KTR Rao on Saturday speaking during the Question Hour in the State Assembly said, “If we have to take tough action, we can. If they don’t understand, we have to do something. If necessary, we will cut the electricity supply there. If necessary, we will cut the water supply as well. We will see what they will do then.” He added that there should be peaceful co-existence and that the state government cannot keep quiet over closure of roads and building of check-dam.

"We will cut power and water supply if needed to military authorities (Cantonment limits) because it is not fair to close the roads whenever they want," said Telangana IT Minister and TRS working president KTR Rao in the State Legislative Assembly yesterday pic.twitter.com/fO30WrSiom

— ANI (@ANI) March 13, 2022

The statement was made in reference to the Strategic Nala Development Programme (SNDP) in Hyderabad. He said that the defence authorities was causing inconvenience to the people by closing several roads in the cantonment area and despite the state government taking up the issue with the Centre, no action had been taken. He further alleged that the defence authorities were also creating hurdles in executing SNDP works. BJP slams IT minister The BJP came down heavily on the state’s IT minister, accusing him of threatening the military and trying to remove the military base from Hyderabad. News agency ANI quoted BJP spokesperson NV Subhash as saying, “It is a really shocking comment from Telangana municipal minister KTR who is well educated. He doesn’t even have respect for our Indian army. This really shows the Telangana government’s stand on how they treat our Army.” He said, “Today they are threatening our military authorities with statements to disconnect electricity and water supply. Are they trying to remove the military base from Hyderabad? What are they trying to say?” Not the first time KTR, who is also the working president of TRS, had raised his voice against the defence authorities in 2021 when he railed against them over road closures in Secunderabad Cantonment Board. He had then said that residents were facing several restrictions, including the closure of roads and night curbs and that the closures were ‘illegal and highly objectionable’. The issue of road closures inside cantonments has been a sticky issue between the Telangana Rashtra Samithi-led government and the Centre. In December 2021, TRS supporters led by M Krishank, chairman of the Telangana Mineral Development Corporation, staged protests, demanding that roads shut for residents in the cantonment area be opened. KTR’s ministry had last year raised the issue with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. On 2 January 2022, also, when KTR and Union Minister Kishan Reddy attended the inauguration of a six-lane two-way flyover in Hyderabad’s Sheikpet, the former requested the latter to help reopen the cantonment roads, to which the Union minister responded saying the Centre was committed to the development of Hyderabad and would extend cooperation in this regard. Military cantonments had made national headlines in July 2018 when then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had decided to allow civilian access to the roads. The issue quickly snowballed when a large section of Army officials and their families expressed strong reservations over the decision, citing security concerns. Veterans and wives of armed forces personnel also agitated on the issue. Post that, Nirmala Sitharaman held several rounds of discussions on the issue of the closure of roads in cantonments and the matter was resolved. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.