A viral video showing large potholes on the newly inaugurated Delhi-Dehradun Expressway has sparked widespread criticism, with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) attributing the damage to heavy rainfall and incomplete drainage works while opposition parties alleged corruption in the project.
The six-lane, 212-km expressway, built at a cost of around Rs 12,000 crore, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14. Designed to reduce travel time between Delhi and Dehradun from about six hours to around two, the highway has emerged as a popular route, particularly during weekends.
The controversy erupted after a motorist shared a video on social media showing two large potholes near Hathi Karoda village in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district. In the video, the motorist claimed that four to five vehicles lost balance after hitting the damaged stretch and that at least two cars suffered bent alloy wheels.
Following the video's circulation, NHAI carried out immediate repairs on the affected section.
In a statement, the highway authority said the road caved in because rainwater accumulated at the site after heavy showers. It maintained that a balancing culvert designed to channel rainwater safely across the carriageway could not be commissioned due to resistance from local residents, who were allegedly using the culvert opening as a vehicle crossing.
NHAI also said permanent slope protection and chute drain works remained incomplete because of an ongoing land dispute. As an interim measure, it is constructing a parallel drain to prevent further waterlogging.
The explanation, however, failed to quell criticism.
Several social media users questioned the quality of construction, pointing out that the expressway developed potholes within three months of its inauguration and before completing its first monsoon season.
The Congress accused the BJP-led Centre of corruption and alleged that the damage reflected poor construction standards. Party spokesperson Shama Mohamed questioned the quality of the project, while the Aam Aadmi Party also shared the viral video to criticise the government.
The expressway's key features include a 12-km elevated wildlife corridor through Rajaji National Park, billed as Asia's longest elevated wildlife corridor, which was built to minimise the impact of traffic on wildlife while improving connectivity between the National Capital Region and Uttarakhand.
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