A major traffic jam on Ghodbunder Road left travellers heading towards Konkan for Ganeshotsav stranded for up to one-and-a-half hours on Saturday morning, with queues stretching from Chena Bridge to Ovala in the Mira-Bhayandar area.
The congestion affected passengers travelling from Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar and Mumbai towards their native villages in Konkan. With Ganeshotsav scheduled for Monday, residents had begun leaving the Mumbai Metropolitan Region from Saturday, leading to a sharp increase in traffic on the route.
Vehicles moved slowly over what would normally be short distances, while public transport buses were also caught in the congestion. The disruption caused frustration among passengers, particularly those travelling for the festival and those who needed to reach their destinations within fixed time windows.
The traffic buildup was attributed to the narrow, hilly section of Ghodbunder Road and the unusually high volume of vehicles. Thousands of commuters already use the corridor, and the addition of festival-bound traffic worsened conditions on Saturday morning.
Potholes on the route added to the difficulties. According to the report, the administration had planned to undertake pothole-filling work a few days earlier, but the work was postponed because of the heavy volume of traffic. Travellers said the combination of potholes and the narrow road was contributing further to the congestion.
The disruption highlights the pressure placed on Ghodbunder Road when local commuter traffic coincides with seasonal intercity travel. The corridor connects the eastern and western sides of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and is used by residents travelling between Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar and areas beyond the region. During festival periods, the route also carries a large number of private vehicles travelling towards Konkan.
Traffic police have advised people travelling for essential work to consider routes through Mumbai. The advice was issued as congestion continued on the Ghodbunder corridor and buses remained affected by the slow-moving traffic.
The immediate operational steps mentioned in the report are the traffic police advisory and the proposed road-maintenance work. No revised timetable for pothole repairs or details of a traffic-diversion plan were provided in the source report.
