Unnao (UP), Sep 1 (PTI) A portion of the Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district caved in following heavy rain, creating a pit about seven feet deep, prompting the agency responsible for its maintenance to divert traffic and begin repairs, officials said on Tuesday.
The damage was reported near Basiratganj toll plaza at the 423.6-kilometre mark on the Prayagraj-bound carriageway, close to a rest area. Barricading was put up, and traffic was diverted to the other lane about 300 metres before the damaged stretch, they said.
Employees of Patel Infrastructure, which constructed about 2000-km stretch of the expressway and is involved in its maintenance, spotted the damaged portion during a night patrol and repair work was subsequently started.
A senior official of the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), which operates the expressway, told PTI that repairs were taken up immediately after the damage was noticed and the pits were filled using concrete mixers to ensure commuters did not face problems.
Work is also underway at other spots where similar damage or problems have been noticed, he said.
“We are continuously monitoring the expressway so that no such problem affects the movement of people and travel remains smooth,” the official said in Lucknow.
A video related to the incident also surfaced on social media, showing a shawl placed over the pit. It was claimed in the video that the shawl had been put there to conceal the pothole, though there was no independent or official confirmation about who placed it or why.
Several other videos showing the pits and rainwater accumulating on the expressway also surfaced on social media on Tuesday. Some commuters spoke about difficulties faced while travelling on the stretch and expressed hope that better maintenance of the expressway would ensure smoother movement.
Unnao has witnessed intermittent rain over the past five days. This is the second reported incident of road damage on the Ganga Expressway in the district this monsoon.
On August 17, a portion of the road near Sonik village under Dahi police station area had caved in at 421-kilometre mark. Soil along about 200 metres of the roadside had been washed away, damaging the road. The maintenance company repaired the stretch within two days.
During rain late Monday night, the road again caved in near the Basiratganj toll plaza, about 2.5 km from the earlier spot. The pit is reported to be around five feet wide and seven feet deep The nearly 594-km Ganga Expressway connects Meerut with Prayagraj. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it in Hardoi on April 29 this year. PTI COR MAN KIS PRK
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