A road widening project in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, has gone viral after a contractor paved a newly widened road around a functional hand pump, leaving it standing in the middle of the thoroughfare. The incident occurred on the road from Doodhnath Junction to Vidhyanchal this week. Rather than removing the hand pump that obstructed the widening work, the contractor simply laid the road surface around it. The bizarre situation quickly gained attention on the internet, prompting officials to take corrective action and remove the hand pump. Local residents expressed concern about potential accidents, noting that the hand pump, which was previously on the roadside, now poses a safety hazard in the centre of the widened road. They also questioned what would happen to the hole left behind after the pump’s removal.