The newly inaugurated Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway, a ₹4,200-crore project, has come under intense scrutiny after a video surfaced showing workers using pedestal fans and exhausts to blow-dry freshly laid bitumen. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav shared the clip on X, mocking the "BJP-style progress" and questioning the safety of driving on a road that began deteriorating within weeks of its July 13 opening. The concessionaire, PNC Infratech, defended the use of fans as a measure to remove surface moisture and accelerate bitumen setting during intermittent rainfall.