Video: Shahjahanpur BJP MLA scrapes road using pen, pulls up officials

Shahjahanpur BJP MLA Chetram questioned the poor quality of roads being built by the government after a video of him using a pen to scrape a part of an underconstruction road went viral. The BJP MLA found shortcomings in the quality of material being used for construction when he went on a surprise inspection in the Powayan police station area.

Road widening work is being carried out on a 17 km stretch connecting Powayan tehsil with Lakhimpur district at a cost of Rs 32 crore. During his visit to the site, Chetram found that mud was being used instead of gravel. He was then seen using a pen to scrape parts of the road that was constructed.

The BJP MLA lamblasted the junior engineer and the contractor and threatened to send them to prison if they played with the quality of the road. He also accused the departmental officer of embezzling commission while underscoring that the Yogi Adityanath government had zero tolerance in terms of quality of road construction.

The BJP MLA further said that he would take up the matter with higher-ups in the government. The incident has caused a stir in the PWD department.

Shahjahanpur is the home district of PWD minister Jitin Prasada.

A local, Amrit Pal Singh, said the road would again get uprooted within months. "These people will build the road and go away. However, it will slowly uproot again," he said. Another local, Lakhbinder Singh, part of the road caved in recently, flagging the poor construction being carried out.