To control the traffic, every 10 minutes, the highway traffic police halted vehicles headed towards Pune and Mumbai to allow passage for vehicles headed the other way
On Sunday, weekend revelers heading towards Lonavala and Khandala were stuck in a three-hour traffic jam on the Mumbai-Pune highway towards Khalapur.
Navi Mumbai resident Sunil Prabhakar, who was among those stuck in the jam, said, “We were from Pune after attending a wedding, and were stuck for three hours at a jam at Khalapur. Revellers returning from monsoon getaways added to the traffic.”
The exceptionally large number of commuters on the highway, according to officials, was due to the National Highway 222 — that connects Malshej Ghat via Kalyan —being shut by the Public Works Department (PWD) for two days due to rockfall. Hence, tourists visiting Malshej Ghat were forced to visit Khandala-Lonavala, and this led to a large number of commuters jamming the highway.
The Kalyan-Nirmal Highway 222 passes from Kalyan via Malshej Ghat to Ahmednagar, Nashik, Pune and Andhra Pradesh. On NH 222, due to heavy soil erosion and rockfall, and traffic was being diverted through Kasara for Kalyan and Malshej.
To control the traffic, every 10 minutes, the highway traffic police halted vehicles headed towards Pune and Mumbai to allow passage for vehicles headed the other way.
A senior highway traffic police officer said, “With weekend destination Malshej Ghat being shut, revellers entered Lonavala and Khandala in large numbers to enjoy the monsoon this weekend. Moreover, traffic being diverted through the single route led to congestion.”
OFFICIAL STAND
- Speaking to DNA, a National Highway Authority of India official said, “Due to heavy rainfall on the ghats, a preventive measure was taken to restrict traffic movement on the hilly stretches. Workers are clearing the dangerous patches on the hills by manually pushing off huge boulders which could be risky for the travellers. It was done to prevent any untoward accident due to rocks and pebbles falling from the cliff.”
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