Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 4 : A major traffic jam occurred on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway after a gas tanker overturned overnight, which also affected the bus services of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).
A gas tanker overturned in the Khandala Ghat section last night, forcing authorities to divert all Mumbai-Pune Expressway traffic to the old Mumbai-Pune Highway. Despite the diversion, vehicles continued to face heavy congestion in the ghat area.
According to information received from the transport department, a total of 139 bus trips, including 73 e-Shivneri and 66 other bus trips, across various divisions in the state have been cancelled due to the situation arising after the accident
Additionally, a total of 163 MSRTC vehicles were stuck in the traffic jam on the expressway. These include 46 vehicles from Satara division, 36 from Solapur division, 20 from Pune division, 18 from Sangli division, 13 from Kolhapur division, 12 from Palghar division, 11 from Thane division, and 7 from Mumbai division, as stated in the release.
The Maharashtra State Transport Department has stated that the safety of passengers is being given top priority, and alternative arrangements have been made after reviewing the situation.
Bus services will be gradually restored once traffic returns to normal.
Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray criticised the government over the prolonged traffic jam on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, saying it is "beyond absurd" that authorities could not intervene to help people stuck for over 20 hours.
Thackeray highlighted the need for basic support such as food, water, and toilets at intervals along the highway. He questioned why toll operators, responsible for maintaining and operating the expressway, were not held accountable for providing these essential services.
In the X post, he said,"It's beyond absurd that the Government can't intervene and help people stuck on the Mumbai- Pune Expressway for over 20 hours. For all the talk of development and good governance, a basic intervention could have helped by reaching out to the people and offering food/ water/ toilets at certain distances from where they're stuck. Been hearing of the plight of the people and the helplessness with which they've had to deal with this. Shouldn't the toll operators be made to pay for these services that they "maintain" and "operate" the highways for?"