Its men who run the show in SCB

HYDERABAD: Though one-third of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board elected members are women, it is their men who attend most official matters.In SCB wards 1, 5 and 6, residents meet the women members’ husbands, when they have to inform their problems, because their husbands look after administrative matters, said K Narayana Rao, a resident of Valmikinagar. “I have never met our ward member M Anuradha. It is her husband M Ramakrishna who visits the area once in a while and speaks to residents. Some residents think her husband M Ramakrishna is the ward member,” he added.Under SCB, there are 8 wards and 295 colonies with a total population of four lakh. There are three women ward members. As per the Cantonment Act, 2006, ward members automatically become Cantonment Board members. In the last two-and-a-half years, about 25 board meetings have been held but the women members attended only about 15 meetings. M Anuradha has not attended even five of them. “They do not visit their chamber but their husbands are always in and around the SCB,’’ said an SCB official.  When this correspondent called up M Anuradha, ward no 3 member, her husband M Ramakrishna answered the call and said, “I do dealings on behalf of my wife. Please tell me what the matter is. I know everything about the SCB. It is better if you ask me directly what you want to know.” Similarly B Narmada, who is the vice-president of SCB, hardly attends board meetings. It is her husband J Mallikarjuna, who does her work.