A video of the shoddy work in road construction has gone viral.
A video gaining traction on social media shows villagers 'lifting' a newly-constructed road with their bare hands. The bizarre incident took place in Maharashtra, as claimed by several Twitter handles. The 38-second clip shows a carpet-like material placed directly under the road, which was constructed by a local contractor. The villagers are heard slamming the shoddy work of the local contractor, who they name as Rana Thakur in the clip. They say the work is "bogus" while holding the carpet below the asphalt.
Watch the video:
According to Free Press Journal, the incident took place in Karjat-Hast Pokhari, part of Ambad taluka in Maharashtra's Jalna district. The road was constructed under Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PM Rural Road Scheme).
The contractor claimed to employ German technology for the construction of the road, the outlet further claimed.
However, as seen in the video, the promise turned out to be hollow as the makeshift solution was exposed by the villagers.
The locals also criticised the Maharashtra government. They want action against the engineer who approved the shoddy work, as per Free Press Journal.
According to Make in India website, India has the second largest road network in the world of about 63.32 lakh kilometres. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has various agencies to implement road construction: National Highways Authority of India, the Public Works Departments of states and Union Territories, National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, Border Roads Organization and Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE).
In conventional road construction, a mixture of gravel, sand and compacted soil is used to ensure durability. In recent years, engineers have started using concrete to increase the durability of the road.