Connecting rural Uttar Pradesh with the rest: A road too far

In the first of a three-part series, Nitin Kumar explores hope vs reality around Purvanchal Expressway — the promise of job and plight of joblessness

Sushant Kumar Sharma is darting down the newly built six-lane Purvanchal Expressway, before taking a right turn to get on to a two-metre-wide dirt track. The track will take him to his village, Ramipur, which lies about 45 km from Lucknow in Barabanki district. “This expressway has been part of my most miserable journey home,” says Sharma. “I walked over 30 km on it when I came back empty-handed during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown.”

“But I’m happy