Pedestal fans drying ₹4,200 crore Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway go viral; internet reacts — ‘Rolling back to stone age’

Theindiapostdaily.com – Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway is in the limelight since the authorities deployed pedestal fans to drying the damaged stretch after heavy rain. Videos are doing the rounds online showing a major slip on ₹4,200 crore highway for which electric fans were installed to treat waterlogged roadbed. To remove moisture from the underlying soil before reconstructionInaugurated less than a fortnight ago, the newly opened road expressway could not withstand rains as a section developed “surface slippage”, as described by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the 63 km six-lane expressway on 13 July. As per NHAI, the rain-triggered damage weakened the soil, causing water to seep into the layers beneath the pavement and the road to slip.Watch viral video here:Social media reactionMany social media users expressed concern over expressway's drainage and construction quality weeks after its inauguration.A user wrote, “Are we rolling back to stone age!!! Marvelous technologies invented by so-called stakeholders.” Another user remarked, “How dumb the people over there can be to use to table fan faced towards the open air to dry the road below.”A third user stated, “What really worries me is the use of table fan more than the corruption and the actual loot.” A fourth comment read, “Now they will show a few crores spent on fans.”A fifth user quipped, “Those fans are barely making a dent.” A sixth user joked, “Should use hair dryers instead."More about Kanpur-Lucknow ExpresswaySlippage was first reported on 26 July, spanning about 300 metres near the 64-km mark in Unnao’s Korari area on the expressway.

Traffic has been routed through a single carriageway while repair work is underway at the affected stretch.According to media reports, NHAI suspended toll collection along the expressway until the issues are fully rectified. A notice has been issued to concessionaire or contractor, PNC Infratech Ltd, to declare it a non-performer over alleged lapses. This will bar the company from participating in bidding in any of NHAI's future projects, Indian Express reported.

The contractor would have to bear the estimated ₹3 crore repair cost and pay for the loss of toll revenue.Besides this, a show-cause notice has been issued to initiate debarment proceedings for up to three years against the head of highways and other responsible staff alongside a penalty of 2% of the performance security.This is one of BJP's flagship highway projects which reduces travel time between Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow and its industrial hub Kanpur to about 40 minutes from around 90 minutes.The much-touted expressway drew backlash from opposition parties as well. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in a post on X stated, “This is the new wind of BJP-style "progress"… A road that was inaugurated just a few days ago now needs repairs, and fans are being used at express speed to dry the repairs— that's ridiculous too.

Who will take the risk of driving on an expressway that's already starting to crumble in just 2-3 weeks?"The SP, in a post on X, alleged that the expressway required repairs for the second time in 17 days. The Uttar Pradesh Congress blamed corruption as it criticised the government over the condition of the expressway: “Direct and clear proof of the BJP government’s corruption”.As per NHAI, IIT Kharagpur has been tasked with conducting a technical investigation into the cause of the failure. The authority has also ordered a laser profilometer survey of the entire pavement.Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media.

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