New Delhi, 27 July– Cracks appearing on a section of the Lucknow-Kanpur Greenfield National Elevated Expressway barely 14 days after its inauguration are raising questions over the quality of construction along with issues of corruption.
As per a viral video, the cracks developed after recent rainfall, prompting concerns about the durability of the newly constructed expressway. Images and videos of the damaged stretch have circulated on social media, with users questioning how a project inaugurated less than two weeks ago could develop visible cracks.
The expressway, built at a cost of Rs 4,200 crore, was inaugurated on July 13 by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
The Lucknow-Kanpur Greenfield National Elevated Expressway is a key infrastructure project aimed at improving connectivity between Lucknow and Kanpur, reducing travel time and easing traffic congestion on one of Uttar Pradesh’s busiest corridors.
The appearance of cracks so soon after the inauguration has sparked criticism and renewed debate over construction quality and project monitoring. Officials are yet to issue a detailed statement on the cause of the damage or whether repair work has begun.
While the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has promptly tried to explain away the defects saying that a viral claim about a section of the recently-inaugurated Lucknow-Kanpur Greenfield Elevated Expressway caving in was incorrect, fact remains that the quality of the projects of the much acclaimed organistion has been under clouds in its other works also,
That NHAI said that only the upper surface of the road was affected, which was repaired within hours.
Earlier in the day, a video purportedly showing a damaged portion of the expressway in Unnao’s Korari area surfaced on social media.
The video was first shared by a local Samajwadi Party worker, following which the party’s media cell reposted it while questioning the quality of construction.
Several social media users also raised concerns over the project’s construction standards, execution and use of public funds, with some alleging corruption.
However, these allegations have not been verified by any government agency.
The 63-km-long Lucknow-Kanpur Greenfield Elevated Expressway, built at an estimated cost of about Rs 4,700 crore, was inaugurated on July 13 by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The project aims to reduce travel time between Lucknow and Kanpur and ease traffic congestion
Veteran Journalist and Political Commentator
