The MLA demanded a thorough probe into the construction of the road and vowed to not leave the spot till the culprits were found and booked.
In a major embarrassment, a BJP MLA’s attempt to inaugurate a road went sideways. As MLA Suchi Chaudhary smashed the coconut on a newly-built stretch of road in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor, the road broke but the coconut remained intact. The incident took place yesterday, 3 December.
The seven km road was rebuilt by the Irrigation Department at a cost of Rs 1.16 crore. The department has completed about 700 metres of the stretch to date, as per reports. The embarrassment comes for the Yogi Adityanath government just months before the state elections next year.
In the dramatic incident that took place yesterday, as gravel came off the road due to the poor quality of construction materials used, a furious Chaudhary stopped the event and sat on dharna to register her protest.
The MLA demanded a thorough probe into the construction of the road and vowed to not leave the spot till the culprits were found and booked. She ended her protest only after the district magistrate promised that the guilty parties would be booked. Officials from the irrigation department took samples of the gravel after the protest.
According to NDTV, Chaudhary was also seen helping the officials dig a wider hole in the location to collect samples of the asphalt.
Chaudhary alleged that the materials used in the construction of the road seemed to be sub-standard and told news outlets that she had reported the incident to the district magistrate. According to the MLA, she stayed at the spot for almost three hours until samples were collected from the site and sent for investigation.
Chaudhary’s husband has also levied allegations of corruption and claimed that the road was not constructed as per the prescribed standards.
However, Vikas Agarwal, Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department denied Chaudhary’s allegations, saying that the materials involved in constructing the stretch of the road were “as per standards”. He also informed that a committee has been set up to look into the MLA’s complaint.
Meanwhile, some local residents had a laugh over the incident, as per media reports.