Monday morning peak hour witnessed monster traffic jam on the Eastern Free Way with bumper-to-bumper traffic. Assistant commissioner of police (traffic) Mahesh Tawde said the mega snarl was caused by the breakdown of an electric bus of the BEST undertaking near Wadala.
The police diverted traffic via the side road of the freeway, which was full of potholes and this slowed traffic further. Said Aneesh Shankar, a Chembur motorist: "It took me an hour and a half to reach my office in Nariman Point. It was hell."
According to Tawde, two more electric buses of the BEST also broke down near Marine Drive, adding to commuter woes.
The BEST was totally unprepared to handle such emergencies which resulted in huge pile ups of vehicles.
The situation on the western and eastern highways was exacerbated because of the arrival of hundreds of vehicles from the rest of Mahashtra carrying netas and their followers on the first day of the monsoon session of the state legislature. In the afternoon traffic in front of Mantralaya was stopped to let a long convoy of VIP cars clear the junction rush between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
According to the Mumbai Traffic Control Room, key arterial roads witnessed heavy gridlocks, including the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road, Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg in Kurla, the Vikhroli-Jogeshwari Link Road, Bandra Reclamation Flyover, SV Road in Bandra and Mahim Koliwada, and the Vakola Flyover. Congestion remained severe through the afternoon eventhough rainfall was less on Monday.
Frustrated motorists blamed inadequate traffic management for the chaos. “Traffic in BKC and Bandra is always bad, but today was extreme,” said Naresh Valmiki, an IT professional. “I was stuck on BKC Road heading towards LBS Marg well before the evening peak. There were no traffic cops in sight, and it took me over 35–40 minutes just to clear a short stretch. I reached home after 6:30 p.m. when I usually arrive by 5:15.”
Other areas on the Kurla side of BKC, such as Kapadia Nagar, Vinod Bhave Nagar, and Nav Pada, also reported prolonged congestion. However, BKC Traffic Division officials maintained that the disruption was short-lived. “There was a brief spike in traffic between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m. due to VVIP movement from Kherwadi, but it eased once the convoy cleared,” said Traffic Officials.
Navi Mumbai News: Citizens, Environmentalists Slam CIDCO For Ignoring Illegal Debris Dumping In Lotus Lake Wetland Despite 4 Weeks Of ProtestsIn the western suburbs, localities like Powai and Saki Naka faced traffic snarls on the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, especially around the Kailash Complex. According to local police, the bottlenecks stemmed from congestion on LBS Marg, but the situation was brought under control before 7 p.m.
Despite the traffic police’s assurances, the day proved to be a taxing one for thousands of commuters struggling through the city’s choked roads.
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