A portion of the Ganga Expressway in Unnao collapsed owing to incessant rains, raising questions regarding the quality of construction of the expressway project that serves as the pride of Uttar Pradesh.
According to official sources, a portion of the entry ramp near Dahi Chowki collapsed due to the continuous rain. This entry ramp connects the expressway with the food plaza in the area rather than being an integral part of the main highway. Thus, there were no problems with the traffic flow on the expressway due to the collapse.
What caused the incident, according to the officials involved, is simple enough – incessant rains resulted in erosion of the subsoil and the consequent collapse of the structure constructed over it. The repair works were commenced shortly after the problem became known.
This was not a one-off occurrence either, as there have been cases of flooding around the toll plaza in the past. UPEIDA has ordered the concerned authorities to take action to solve this issue. The construction of a retaining wall has been suggested as a possible solution.
Before long, the matter became highly politicised. The leader of the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav, took the opportunity presented by the incident to question the standard of infrastructure construction in the state, criticising the current administration.
Ganga Expressway is no ordinary project either. It is one of the largest and most ambitious projects in the entire state of Uttar Pradesh, connecting Meerut to Prayagraj and aimed at completely transforming the connectivity of the region.
