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Pedestal fans used to dry ₹4,200-cr Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway repair
This is the new wave of BJP-style ‘progress, said SP president Akhilesh Yadav, taking a swipe at the government over the quality of the new expressway
Already facing backlash over the construction quality of the newly built ₹4,200-crore Lucknow–Kanpur Expressway, a road contractor on Thursday found itself in the hot seat after a video surfaced showing workers using pedestal fans to blow-dry freshly laid bitumen, igniting a fresh wave of public ridicule.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who shared a video clip of fans and exhausts placed along a stretch of the expressway to blow away the surface humidity, put the spotlight on the quality of the expressway construction that had been opened just weeks earlier on July 13.
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“This is the new wave of BJP-style ‘progress’. A road that was inaugurated just a few days ago already needs repairs, and hilariously, electric fans are being used at express speed to dry the patch-up work. Who would take the risk of driving on an expressway that has started deteriorating in just two to three weeks?” Yadav said in his commentary on X on Thursday.
The concessionaire, PNC Infratech, is already in trouble after multiple complaints about the quality of the road construction led the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to issue a notice proposing to declare the firm a “non-performer,” which would bar the concessionaire from bidding for future highway projects.
PNC Infratech general manager Anguluri Satyanarayan defended the use of fans, saying this was aimed at removing surface moisture and accelerating the setting of bituminous layers during intermittent rainfall.
According to reports, portions of the road had collapsed or developed fresh distress nine times in just 22 days, requiring repairs at more than 80 locations.
NHAI records show that 84 distress points had already been identified; 39 on the Lucknow-bound carriageway and 45 on the Kanpur-bound side. While some locations required patchwork, others had to be reconstructed after the pavement caved in.
The most serious incident occurred on July 30, when a gravel-laden truck sank into the damaged carriageway.
Nearly 1,000 square feet of pavement was excavated to a depth of about two feet and the affected section rebuilt. However, fresh cracks reportedly appeared soon after the repair, raising concerns about the structural condition beneath the surface.
Experts said equipment such as fans could assist in drying the surface during emergency maintenance, but the long-term pavement performance depended on the quality of material, proper compaction, adequate drainage and adherence to engineering specifications rather than temporary drying measures alone.
NHAI chief general manager and regional officer of UP, Gautam Vishal said the firm would foot the bill for the repairs.
“PNC Infratech has been told to repair the expressway with best of quality materials and at their own cost. NHAI is not going to pay anything to them,” he said.
On Wednesday, NHAI issued a statement announcing action against senior officials associated with the project and the concessionaire. NHAI also moved out its project director Nakul Prakash Verma who was repatriated to his parent department.
A statement issued by NHAI on Wednesday said a charge sheet was also being issued against the former project director, Saurabh Chaurasia, during whose tenure substantial construction took place, and the present project director, Nakul Prakash Verma, for alleged negligence in the discharge of their responsibilities.
It also removed the construction agency’s project manager Vivek Kumar Gupta, independent engineer team leader Surendra Kumar and resident engineer Yatendra Kumar from the project and debarred them from projects of the ministry of road transport and highways, NHAI and NHIDCL for two years.
