India, Aug. 7 -- LUCKNOW In an unusual sight on a national highway, industrial fans and exhaust blowers were deployed on a damaged stretch of the newly opened Rs.4200-crore Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway to dry freshly laid bitumen amid persistent monsoon showers. The scene circulated widely on social media platforms, with local observers questioning the practicality of using fans for rainwater removal on a newly maintained expressway segment.

Emergency repair work gathered pace across the corridor after the NHAI proposed to declare the concessionaire, PNC Infratech, a non-performer, removed key project officials and suspended toll collection until the damaged stretches were restored. The action followed the report of a "slippage" near Km 64 ...