ST bus breakdown on T-B Road causes 2-hr long snarl

Thane: Motorists had a harrowing time on Thursday morning as a state transport bus broke down on Thane-Belapur Road leading to a two-hour snarl.
Around 9am, the overloaded bus, which was on its way from Bhiwandi to Panvel via Thane, broke down near Rabale pond where the Mulund-Airoli link road meets T-B Road due to a technical glitch. Even Mulund-Airoli road witnessed bumbper-to-bumper traffic.
Serpentine queues went up to Airoli bridge on Mulund-Airoli link Road on one side and up to the Digha on the T-B road.
“Most of us were delayed for work as we were stuck in queue for over an hour,” said Ankit Sharma, a motorist.
Rabale traffic police had a tough time moving the bus from middle of the road and streamline the heavy traffic flow. One of the rear tyres of the bus was also punctured, said a traffic cop. “The bus had over 90 passengers when it’s permitted to carry 55. We have seized the driver’s licence,” he added.
“We had to call for a towing van to remove the bus and clear the road,” said Balasaheb Gade, traffic police inspector, Rabale unit.