India, Aug. 6 -- Already facing backlash over the construction quality of the newly built Rs.4,200-crore Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway, a road contractor on Thursday found itself in the hot seat after a video surfaced showing workers using pedestal fans to blow-dry freshly laid bitumen, igniting a fresh wave of public ridicule.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who shared a video clip of fans and exhausts placed along a stretch of the expressway to blow away the surface humidity, put the spotlight on the quality of the expressway construction that had been opened just weeks earlier on July 13.

"This is the new wave of BJP-style 'progress'. A road that was inaugurated just a few days ago already needs repairs, and hilariously, electr...