UNNAO: A portion of the road linking the Kanpur-Lucknow National Highway to the Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district caved in following the season’s first monsoon rain after the soil beneath the stretch was washed away.Officials said on Sunday that a nearly seven-metre section of the link road near Bashiratganj in the Sonik area, where it joins the Ganga Expressway, developed a cave-in, prompting repair work, according to news agency PTI.Local residents alleged that proper slope protection and soil-retention measures had not been implemented as per prescribed standards, leading to the collapse during the first spell of monsoon rain.Raising questions over the quality of construction, residents claimed that concerns regarding the road’s stability had been flagged during the construction phase but were not adequately addressed.According to locals, when journalists visited the site on Friday evening to photograph the damaged stretch, personnel of the executing agency allegedly attempted to stop them from taking pictures, stating that photography on the expressway was not allowed.Officials noted that similar problems, including road subsidence, soil erosion and damaged railings, had previously been reported on the Sonik service lane and the main carriageway before the expressway was opened to traffic.No official statement had been issued by the administration till the filing of this report.Sadar Sub-Divisional Magistrate Kshitij Dwivedi said the entire project falls under the jurisdiction of the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), and any inquiry or further action would have to be initiated by the agency.The 594-km Ganga Expressway, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 29 this year, runs from Bijauli village in Meerut district to Judapur Dandu village in Prayagraj district. Developed by UPEIDA, the access-controlled expressway is aimed at improving connectivity across western and central Uttar Pradesh. Passing through 12 districts, it is one of the state’s flagship infrastructure projects.
