A BJP MLA from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, was called to inaugurate a 7-kilometer road that had been rebuilt at a cost of 1.16 crore, but she was caught in the middle of a coconut-cracking ritual that ended up damaging the road instead. 

The MLA from Bijnor Sadar constituency, Suchi Mausam Chaudhary, was furious and waited for three hours for a team of officers to arrive and take samples of the road to investigate. 

She promised stern punishment for those responsible and was seen digging a larger hole in the area to facilitate the collection of the asphalt sample.

“The irrigation department was building a road for ₹ 1.16 crore. The road is around 7.5 km long. I was asked to inaugurate the road. When I got there and tried to break a coconut, the coconut did not break. Bits of the road came off,” she told reporters.

“I had it checked and found the construction to be deficient. The work was not up to the standard. We stopped the inauguration. I spoke to the District Magistrate. The DM formed a three-member team. The material was sent for sampling and we were there for almost three hours,” Ms Chaudhary said.

“Action will be taken against those responsible… they will face strict action. The DM has assured me that the road will be built to spec,” she further added.

However, Vikas Agarwal, the executive engineer of Bijnor’s irrigation department, denied any corruption, saying, “That’s not true. We have asked the District Magistrate to investigate so that there are no misconceptions.” 

The incident comes as a major embarrassment for the BJP government, which is less than three months away from state elections in which Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s main pitch has been about an efficient and corruption-free administration.