In Uttar Pradesh (UP)'s Bijnor, when a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA smashed a coconut on a road to mark its inauguration on Friday, 3 December, what cracked was not the woody fruit but the newly built road underneath it.
As gravel came off from the stretch of land, presumably due to poor quality of new road, BJP MLA Suchi Chaudhary sat on a protest, demanding a probe into the construction.
Gravel samples were subsequently taken for testing, after the protest.
"I spoke to the district magistrate about that. I told him that the road was not up to the standards. The DM formed a three-member team, which was sent to the site. They collected material from there, which was sent for sampling. We stayed there for almost three hours until this was done," Chaudhary told reporters.
Aishwarya Chaudhary, husband of the BJP MLA, claims that only 700m of the total 7.5 km of the road was ready. Alleging corruption, he said that the road has not been built according to the prescribed standards.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)