A major traffic jam on Ghodbunder Road in the Mira-Bhayandar area left travellers heading to Konkan for Ganeshotsav stranded for up to one and a half hours on Saturday morning, with queues stretching from Chena Bridge to Ovala. The congestion also delayed public transport buses and affected residents travelling between Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar and Mumbai.
The traffic build-up began in the morning as residents started leaving for their native villages in Konkan ahead of Ganeshotsav, which falls on Monday. The annual festival triggered an early movement of private vehicles from Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar and Mumbai, adding to the regular traffic volume on the route.
According to the report, vehicles were moving slowly even across stretches that would normally take only a few minutes to cross. Travellers were required to remain in the traffic for approximately one to one and a half hours as long queues formed along the Ghodbunder Road corridor.
The congestion was linked to the narrow ghat section of Ghodbunder Road and the sharp increase in the number of vehicles using the route for festival travel. The corridor is used by thousands of citizens, and the additional flow of vehicles travelling towards Konkan worsened conditions on Saturday morning.
Public transport buses were also caught in the jam, extending delays to passengers who were not travelling for the festival. The disruption led to anger among travellers, particularly those facing delays on a route already constrained by its narrow sections and heavy daily traffic.
The condition of the road was further raised as a contributing concern. The administration had planned to take up pothole-filling work on the route a few days earlier, but the work was postponed because of the heavy movement of vehicles. Travellers have complained that the combination of potholes and the narrow road has added to the traffic problem.
Traffic police have appealed to people travelling for essential work to consider using the Mumbai route instead. The advisory was issued as the Ghodbunder Road congestion continued to affect vehicle movement during the festival-related travel rush.
