Richardson Road (popular as Lakadawala Road) and Protnee Road in Secunderabad Cantonment have been given a fresh coat of tar (bitumen), thereby ensuring a smooth ride for commuters.

These two roads were among the five roads that were opened for civilian traffic on April 30 by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) after a prolonged fight by resident welfare associations (RWA). The Secunderabad Cantonment Board sanctioned Rs 1.7 crore for recarpeting of the roads.

For more than a decade, these two roads, which fall under Cantonment land (class 'C'), did not get any facelift as the local military authority had shut them and restricted civilian traffic movement.

While residents expressed happiness for recarpeting the roads, they asked SCB to allow Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) to run its city buses on these roads for the benefit of locals.

The decision to allow civilians to use the roads for morning walks will depend on the local military authority's (LMA) approval once the pavement work is completed. The number of commuters using these roads has doubled within a few months.