Massive potholes and cave-ins have appeared on the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway barely two months after it was thrown open to the public, with videos of the damaged stretch going viral on social media as the first spell of monsoon rain hit the route.
The 210-km, six-lane expressway, built at a cost of over Rs 12,000 crore, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14. It connects Delhi to Dehradun via Baghpat, Baraut, Shamli and Saharanpur, cutting travel time between the two cities from five hours to about two-and-a-half hours.
Videos circulating online show deep potholes and what appears to be a road cave-in on the expressway following the season’s first rainfall. In one clip, people at the spot can be seen warning passing motorists about the damaged stretch. The person who recorded one of the videos claimed the alloy wheel of their vehicle was bent after it hit a pothole. Authorities have not officially confirmed the exact extent of the damage.
The Congress on Thursday, July 2, seized on the visuals to allege corruption in the construction of the expressway. In a post on X, the party said the road had developed massive potholes within two months of its inauguration, calling it evidence of rampant corruption and embezzlement of funds during the project’s construction. The party further alleged that deteriorating infrastructure was not an isolated case and cited crumbling public assets across the country, targeting the Modi government over the issue.
The expressway, also known as the Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor, passes through Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and includes a 12-km elevated wildlife corridor over Rajaji National Park, besides a tunnel near the Datkali temple. At the time of inauguration, the government had projected the project as a key measure to reduce travel time, fuel costs and freight charges for commuters, while also cutting down man-animal conflict along the route.
There has been no official statement yet from the National Highways Authority of India or the Union road transport ministry on the pothole complaints.
