Rain damages Ganga Expressway in Unnao; Akhilesh Yadav takes dig at Uttar Pradesh govt

A portion of the Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradeshrsquos Unnao district caved in after heavy rain creating a pit about seven feet deep and prompting the agency responsible for its maintenance to divert traffic and begin repairs officials said on TuesdaySamajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav hit out at the state government over the condition of the expressway sarcastically calling it the countryrsquos ldquofirst express waterwayrdquo He also claimed that the potholes were ldquocarpetedrdquo instead of being filled and accused the BJP government of turning expressways into a ldquodrawing roomrdquo of corruptionThe damage was reported near Basiratganj toll plaza at the 4236kilometre mark on the Prayagrajbound carriageway close to a rest area Barricading was put up and traffic was diverted to the other lane about 300 metres before the damaged stretch they saidEmployees of Patel Infrastructure which constructed about 2000 km of the expressway and is involved in its maintenance spotted the damaged portion during a night patrol and repair work was subsequently startedA senior official of the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority UPEIDA which operates the expressway told PTI that repairs began immediately after the damage was noticed and the pits were filled using concrete mixers to ensure commuters did not face problemsWork is also underway at other spots where similar damage or problems have been noticed he said ldquoWe are continuously monitoring the expressway so that no such problem affects the movement of people and travel remains smoothrdquo the official said in LucknowA video related to the incident also surfaced on social media showing a shawl placed over the pit It was claimed in the video that the shawl had been put there to conceal the pothole though there was no independent or official confirmation about who placed it or whySeveral other videos showing pits and rainwater accumulating on the expressway also surfaced on social media Some commuters spoke about difficulties faced while travelling on the stretch and expressed hope that better maintenance would ensure smoother movementYadav the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh shared a video clip showing waterlogging at a toll plaza connecting the Ganga Expressway to another road and wrote ldquoBJP has built the countryrsquos first express waterwayrdquo In another post sharing a news clip showing a damaged stretch of the LucknowKanpur Expressway he alleged that the BJPrsquos ldquocarpet developmentrdquo was marked by potholes and said ldquoThe BJP is turning expressways into a drawing room of its corruptionrdquoUnnao has witnessed intermittent rain over the past five days This is the second reported incident of road damage on the Ganga Expressway in the district this monsoon On August 17 a portion of the road near Sonik village under Dahi police station area had caved in at the 421kilometre mark Soil along about 200 metres of the roadside had been washed away damaging the road The maintenance company repaired the stretch within two daysDuring rain late Monday night the road again caved in near the Basiratganj toll plaza about 25 km from the earlier spot The pit is reported to be around five feet wide and seven feet deep The nearly 594km Ganga Expressway connects Meerut with Prayagraj Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it in Hardoi on April 29 this yearThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever