Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Daya Shankar Singh on Wednesday (August 6, 2025) publicly scolded a Public Works Department (PWD) engineer for opening a newly constructed bridge in his constituency without informing him.
Mr. Singh accused the engineer of acting with a political motive, indirectly hinting that the issue is linked to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA from Rasra, Umashankar Singh, though he didn’t name anyone.
“Are you contesting elections from here? Is the BSP giving you a ticket? Maybe the MLA is helping you get one. Don’t lose your mind. I am the MLA and the minister here. You opened the bridge without informing me. I know with whom you’re working,” the minister said in the video.
The incident reportedly happened past midnight on August 6 when the Minister visited the bridge over the Kathar Nala in Ballia.
Later talking to reporters, Mr. Singh added the executive engineer had previously claimed that the bridge could not be opened due to pending formal testing and lack of administrative approval, despite repeated requests. “I would raise the matter with higher authorities. How can any officer in this government wield such power? He is ignoring the minister; he may be getting some protection from someone above,” said Mr. Singh.
The incident is latest of many instances in which U.P. Ministers come face-to-face with officials over violation of protocol and arbitrary actions.
Days earlier, U.P. Minister Suresh Rahi was forced to personally carry a faulty electrical transformer to a local power station after a junior engineer allegedly misbehaved with him over a phone call. The incident happened in Koriya Udnapur village in the Hargaon area, which had been without electricity for the last 24 hours.
When the minister contacted Junior Engineer (JE) Ramesh Mishra over a power cut due to a transformer and inquired about replacing the damaged device, the power department officer allegedly responded rudely, telling the minister to “bring the transformer himself”. Responding angrily, the Minister loaded the transformer into his vehicle and transported it to the nearby powerhouse, where he personally deposited it.
Later, U.P. Energy Minister A.K. Sharma announced the suspension of the officer.
“The indiscretion shown by the Junior Engineer (JE) of Hargaon of the Electricity Department in Sitapur district towards the Minister of State in the State Government, Mr. Suresh Rahi, is absolutely unacceptable. Also, the insensitivity of the said JE towards the problems of the people and his laxity in his work is also unforgivable. For this, JE Shri Ramesh Mishra has been suspended with immediate effect. Also, after talking to the Honourable Minister Shri Rahi Ji myself, I have instructed the Chairman UPPCL and MD MVVNL that in this incident, the fault of the management from top to bottom is visible. Such incidents should not be repeated.
All the electricity workers are once again requested and warned that ignoring public sentiments and behaving rudely with the public or public representatives will have serious consequences,” said Mr. Sharma.
Published – August 07, 2025 04:53 am IST
