A major traffic jam on Ghodbunder Road in the Mira Bhayandar area left travellers heading to Konkan for Ganeshotsav stuck for nearly one to one-and-a-half hours on Saturday morning, with vehicle queues stretching from Chena Bridge to Owala. Public transport buses were also caught in the congestion, adding to delays for residents and other commuters.
The traffic build-up followed a sharp increase in vehicles leaving Mira Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar and Mumbai for their native villages ahead of Ganeshotsav, which is scheduled for Monday. Travellers began their journeys from Saturday, resulting in heavy traffic on the route from the morning.
According to the report, the narrow ghat section of Ghodbunder Road and the additional festive-season traffic combined to worsen congestion. The route is regularly used by thousands of citizens, but the increased number of vehicles travelling towards Konkan led to particularly difficult conditions on Saturday. Journeys that would normally take only a few minutes were taking considerably longer.
Road surface conditions also contributed to the disruption. The administration had planned to undertake pothole-filling work on the route a few days earlier, but the work was postponed because of the heavy traffic volume. Travellers have complained that potholes, together with the narrow road, are aggravating the congestion and slowing the movement of vehicles.
The traffic disruption has affected both private vehicles and transport-service buses, leaving passengers delayed during the festival travel period. The traffic police have appealed to people travelling for essential work to consider using the Mumbai route instead. The report did not specify how long the congestion would continue or announce a revised schedule for the postponed pothole repairs.
