Video | ‘Road or Carpet?’ Maharashtra villagers unmask alleged fraud in newly constructed road

Villagers shared a video on social media, which has now gone viral, showcasing their attempts to lift the newly laid road like a carpet.

Villagers in Maharashtra's Jalna district have exposed the alleged poor quality of a road construction project implemented under a centrally sponsored scheme, according to a report from Times of India. The villagers shared a video on social media, which has now gone viral, showcasing their attempts to lift the newly laid road like a carpet.

The men in the video were observed expressing their disappointment with the newly constructed road. (Twitter/@MdFujailAhmed)

The video, shared on Twitter by one Md. Fujail Ahmed, a local Congress leader from Assam, showed locals finding a cloth underneath the road's surface and exposing the muddy road beneath the newly constructed layer.

"Wherever there is BJP government, there is only loot and corruption! This Is Not A Black Carpet, But A Recently Completed Road Work At Jalna In Maharashtra Under PMGSY. It Proves Shinde/Fadnavis Govt in MH is grossly incompetent & involved in huge corruptions. Nude form of “Na Khaunga Na Khane Dunga!” he tweeted, taking a jibe at the state government.

The men in the video were seen expressing their disappointment with the newly constructed road, and referred to it as ‘bogus’. The construction of the road had been carried out as part of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, with a financial allocation of Rs. 6.8 crore designated for the roadwork encompassing the Rama-Hashtpokhari-Kajrat-Lijma villages in Amblad Taluka of Jalna district, the TOI report said.

Following the widespread circulation of the video, the Maharashtra Rural Road Development Agency countered the claims of poor road quality. They asserted that they had employed innovative construction technology to ensure the longevity and durability of the roads. According to an agency official, the villagers' attempt to remove the “stress-absorbing membrane interface layer” occurred while the roadwork was still in progress.