SUV plunges 15-20 ft deep after service road along Agra-Lucknow expressway caves in; probe ordered

An SUV plunged 15-20 feet deep after a service road caved in alongside the Agra-Lucknow expressway today following heavy rains, prompting the Uttar Pradesh government to order a probe.

However, no one was injured in the incident, officials said.

"A third-party probe has been ordered into the caving-in of the side road of the expressway (16 km from Agra towards Lucknow) by RITES Limited. The construction of the damaged road will be done by the construction agency at its cost," Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) Chairman Avanish Awasthi said.

The UP government asked railways consultancy firm RITES Limited to complete the probe within 15 days.

Awasthi said that all the agencies involved in the construction of the expressway have been asked to keep an eye on the situation and ensure proper drainage arrangements.

The 302-km long expressway, which costs nearly Rs 15,000 crore, was completed in record time of 23 months.

It was inaugurated in November, 2016, by the erstwhile Samajwadi Party (SP) government months ahead of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election.

It is the country's longest access-controlled greenfield expressway on which the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighters jets can land and take-off in case of a war-like emergency.