The Nashik district administration has advanced a ban on private vehicles travelling on the Nanduri–Saptashrungi Gad ghat route, allowing only Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation buses from 6am on October 23 until 6am on October 26 for the Kojagiri Purnima pilgrimage period.
Additional District Magistrate Rohitkumar Rajput said private vehicles, auto-rickshaws and hired transport would not be permitted on the ghat section during the revised restriction period. The ban covers private two-wheelers, four-wheelers, auto-rickshaws and commercial passenger vehicles using the route to Saptashrungi Gad.
The administration had earlier planned to restrict vehicle entry from 6am on October 25 until midnight on October 26. Officials moved the start forward after anticipating a heavy influx of devotees from different parts of Maharashtra from October 23 itself.
Under the revised arrangement, MSRTC buses will be the only permitted vehicles operating along the restricted ghat stretch. Devotees travelling to the temple have been asked to plan their journeys around the bus service and follow the revised traffic instructions issued by the district administration.
The approach road from Nanduri to Saptashrungi Gad is narrow and includes steep gradients and sharp turns. According to the administration, allowing private vehicles during the festival rush could result in traffic congestion, law and order challenges and safety risks for pilgrims using the route.
The restriction illustrates the operational difficulty of managing access to a high-footfall religious destination through a constrained hill road. Unlike a normal urban traffic diversion, the arrangement requires authorities to balance the movement of large numbers of visitors with the limited capacity and geometry of the ghat road. Restricting vehicle categories also places greater importance on the availability and orderly movement of public buses.
The district administration has urged devotees visiting Saptashrungi Gad for Kojagiri Purnima to take note of the changed schedule, use MSRTC services and cooperate with officials deployed to manage the pilgrimage movement. The private vehicle ban will remain in force until 6am on October 26.
