Mishaps and jams on Mumbai-Pune expressway spoil revellers’ weekend party

They fear if the traffic police don’t take precautionary measures, the situation will become worse on New Year when revellers leave for getaways such as Pune, Alibaug, Lonavala and Mahabaleshwar.

Long tailbacks, breakdowns and accidents on the Mumbai-Pune expressway continued to harry motorists on Sunday, who headed out of Mumbai to celebrate the long Christmas weekend.

The jam on the Mumbai-Pune expressway was cleared by 1.30 pm on Sunday. (HT file photo)

Congestion was cleared by 1.30pm on Sunday. Several vehicles were stuck in traffic for hours. They fear if the traffic police don’t take precautionary measures, the situation will become worse on New Year when revellers leave for getaways such as Pune, Alibaug, Lonavala and Mahabaleshwar.

“I along with my family was travelling from Vashi to Pune on Sunday morning. Because of congestion, it took almost five-and-a-half-hours to reach Pune. On other days, the journey normally takes around three hours,” said Vinod Mhatre, 35, a resident of Vashi.

With offices shut till Monday (Christmas), many professionals have extended their holiday with leave on Tuesday.

Traffic snarl was first reported at the beginning of the expressway, near Kalamboli and Panvel on Saturday. Every toll naka in Raigad district saw huge tailbacks. Breakdowns also contributed to motorists’ plight. A trailer toppled and hampered the movement of Pune-bound and Mumbai-bound vehicles on Sunday morning.

In the first half of the day, Ghat sections witnessed traffic jams and hundreds of vehicles coming from Mumbai were stuck for hours. The situation, however, improved in the afternoon.

“Traffic has been extremely slow since Sunday morning, and we have deployed more officials on the highway. The expressway usually sees more traffic on weekends. This time, the situation is worse as people have a long weekend,” said a senior officer of the Raigad police.