World-class ceiling, bucket-class solution
Lucknow’s new Terminal 3 was supposed to be a symbol of world-class infrastructure.
Built for a staggering Rs 2,400 crore and inaugurated just last year, it promised luxury lounges, modern facilities, and smooth passenger experience.
Instead, the monsoon gave travellers something extra — an impromptu indoor water feature.
As rain poured outside, water began dripping inside, and airport staff swung into action — not with high-tech drainage, but with tubs and buckets spread across the terminal floor.
If Singapore’s Changi Airport boasts the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, Lucknow now boasts the world’s most determined indoor bucket brigade.
Airport officials called the seepage “unexpected” and blamed the heavy rainfall.
They also insisted the structure was of “high quality” and had passed all checks.
For now, travellers can enjoy the rare experience of collecting boarding passes under a drizzle and watching staff navigate between luggage and leak-buckets.
When school meetings go… very off-syllabus
In Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh, an online meeting on school facilities took a detour from chalk and blackboards.
District Magistrate Santosh Kumar Sharma was chairing the ‘e-Chaupal’ Zoom session, with block education officers, headmasters, teachers, journalists, and members of the public all tuned in. The agenda was fixing school infrastructure and staffing issues.
A mystery participant named “Jason Jr” shared his screen and treated everyone to an entirely different sort of “lesson plan”: a porn video.
The sudden syllabus change left participants squirming for all the wrong reasons, and the meeting was called off before anyone could issue homework.
Two days later, Block Education Officer Sudama Prasad filed a police complaint. Cyber cops are now working to identify the culprit, promising swift action.
For now, Maharajganj’s educators have learned one thing: when it comes to online meetings, always lock the classroom door. Especially when the topic is school reform, not… anatomy.
UP hospital hires ‘Dr. Bull’ as staff
Last week in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, patients at the Primary Health Center arrived expecting to see doctors. What they got instead was a bull doing paperwork.
The bull was spotted in the doctor’s chamber, head buried in government files. With no staff in sight, the hospital resembled less a medical center and more a cowshed.
The Samajwadi Party president, Akhilesh Yadav, weighed in with sarcasm.
His post read: “Chief Minister reached for a surprise inspection of the health fair but it was found that the doctor did not come. Someone asked, Bhaiya , when will the doctor come? So someone replied, "it seems that the doctor will come only when the government changes.”
The chief medical officer was less amused. “Strict action will be taken against whoever is found guilty,” he said.
Flyover to nowhere
A Rs 153-crore flyover between Para and Rajajipuram, which was supposed to cut traffic snarls for more than five lakh people, has instead become Lucknow’s latest sightseeing spot.
Out of the planned 857.92 metres, only 168 metres have been built. And then, full stop. On the Para side, there is no landing.
Till it is completed, locals must travel 4 km extra daily, often waiting at railway crossings. The irony is hard to miss: once finished, the bridge is expected to cut travel time from 30 minutes to just 2 minutes.
The project was approved in November 2023 and inaugurated in October 2024 by defence minister Rajnath Singh. Work came to a halt on March 17, 2025, because 85 houses and shops are still standing where the landing should be.
The owners say no notices or compensation have come their way.
“The 85 families have not been served any notice, nor has the compensation for their properties been announced. The residents need compensation if they are to be displaced,” said Rekha Singh, corporator of Malviya Nagar Para ward.
The UP State Bridge Corporation admits it started building from one end without acquiring land on the other.
Project director Amit Verma said talks over compensation were in the “final stage” with the district administration. “After that, land registry work would begin,” he assured.
Executive engineer Satyendra Nath echoed the optimism without giving a timeline. “Talks with landowners were ongoing and a solution was round the corner,” he said.
A district official insisted the land acquisition process under Section 11 had begun and would be wrapped up in a month. The official completion date still reads December 31, 2026.