UP: Bundelkhand Expressway cracks open days after PM Modi's inauguration
What's the story
A portion of the newly inaugurated Bundelkhand Expressway in Uttar Pradesh has caved in only a week after its grand opening. A viral video on Thursday showed a one-and-a-half-foot crater in a section of the highway in UP's Jalaun district. Visuals from the scene also led to the opposition parties launching a blistering attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
Crater
Rain causes damage to the highway
The 296-km-long expressway developed a pothole due to heavy rains in the area. The state administration spotted the damage on Wednesday night and began repair work instantly, PTI reported. The officials deployed a team to repair the stretch, and the highway is now open to the public. However, according to local media, two cars and a bike met with accidents in the caved-in area.
Twitter Post
Watch: Damage at the Bundelkhand Expressway
The damaged portion of the Bundelkhand expressway pic.twitter.com/FDoJWA8oi6
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) July 21, 2022
Opposition attack
Thank god a runway wasn't built on it: Akhilesh Yadav
Launching a scathing attack on the party, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that this is "BJP's idea of half-finished development." "The expressway was inaugurated by big people and within a week huge pits of corruption came out on it," Yadav tweeted. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also joined him in slamming Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and PM Narendra Modi.
Twitter Post
Serious question on quality, says BJP MP Varun Gandhi
15 हजार करोड़ की लागत से बना एक्सप्रेसवे अगर बरसात के 5 दिन भी ना झेल सके तो उसकी गुणवत्ता पर गंभीर प्रश्न खड़े होते हैं।
— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) July 21, 2022
इस प्रोजेक्ट के मुखिया, सम्बंधित इंजीनियर और जिम्मेदार कंपनियों को तत्काल तलब कर उनपर कड़ी कार्यवाही सुनिश्चित करनी होगी।#BundelkhandExpressway pic.twitter.com/krD6G07XPo
Expressway
Adityanath government responds
Reacting to Yadav's comments, state minister Nand Gopal said that the incident was part of 'various technical tests' being conducted at the expressway. "The state is doing surface layer work again to check its unevenness with straight-edge and profilometer," he tweeted. A government official said that the road had been buried due to water logging, but has now been repaired, India Today reported.
Inauguration
Built at cost of over Rs. 14,000 crore
The Bundelkhand Expressway was inaugurated by PM Modi on July 16. It passes through seven districts- Chitrakoot, Mahoba, Banda, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Auraiya, and Etawah, and eventually merges with the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. The four-lane highway was built in 28 months at a cost of Rs. 14,850 crore. This is the fourth expressway project in UP and is expected to improve connectivity and increase job opportunities.