Mumbai: With Mumbaikars looking to take advantage of the long weekend, roads leading to hill stations – mainly the Mumbai-Pune Expressway – were jam-packed on Sunday.
According to the state highway police, the traffic was mainly generated from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai – travelling towards Lonavala, Khandala and Pune in cars, SUVs and mini-buses, which slowed down movement.
To make the situation worse, a car reportedly caught fire on the expressway, which caused traffic snarls. By 9.30am long queues of vehicles had already formed at the expressway, from Khalapur Toll Plaza to Khandala, the police said.
“Weekend rush"
Vehicles heading towards Pune from Mumbai had a long waiting period, especially at the ghat section of Khandala. The police added that they had seen the “weekend rush” coming and accordingly had deployed additional traffic officers at Khandala and Lonavala.
On Saturday, too, in the morning hours the traffic situation was bad. However, by afternoon the traffic cleared up and started moving.
Jayanti Shirkhe, a resident of Powai who was travelling with her family to Lonavala, said they left home early in the morning and yet it took them more than two hours to cross the expressway.
Rajesh Bhubjal, another resident of Mumbai who was also going towards Lonavala, said their vehicle was stuck in traffic near Khalapur Toll Plaza for almost 45 minutes.
“We were getting frustrated. It was supposed to be a getaway trip with my children and wife, but instead, we spent the first half of the day in traffic,” Bhujbal said.
On Saturday, a truck carrying hens to Mumbai, coming from Pune, turned over at Gahunje Village on Mumbai-Pune Expressway, killing many birds. These hens were scattered across the expressway, causing traffic delays.
