Ganesh rush chokes Mumbai-Goa highway near Mangaon

With Ganesh Chaturthi just two days away, the number of commuters heading from Mumbai and nearby areas to the Konkan region has surged sharply. Thousands of Ganesh devotees travelling home in private vehicles have put heavy pressure on the Mumbai-Goa National Highway, with long queues of vehicles stretching across Kharpada, Indapur and Mangaon.

Ganesh idols are due to be installed in homes on Monday, September 14. As a result, people from the Konkan region living in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and nearby areas have been travelling to their villages since Saturday. With a large number of vehicles hitting the highway at the same time, traffic has been moving very slowly at several points.

The congestion is most severe in the Mangaon area, where queues stretch for several kilometres at some points. Vehicles are inching forward towards Mahad, and the slow pace is causing major delays for travellers. Families travelling to the Konkan are bearing the brunt of the congestion, with the extra travel time throwing many people's plans to reach their villages off schedule.

Since work on the Mumbai-Goa highway remains incomplete at several stretches, the pressure of increased Ganeshotsav traffic is being felt even more acutely. Potholes on the service road in the Nagothane area are slowing vehicles down, while traffic in parts of Indapur is moving through a single lane, causing queues to build up. These bottlenecks on the highway, combined with the sudden rise in vehicle numbers, have made the situation worse.

Some undisciplined drivers have also been found to be contributing to the congestion. In order to head towards the Konkan faster, some drivers have been driving on the wrong side, entering the lane meant for traffic coming towards Mumbai. This is affecting traffic on both sides and making it harder for police to clear the congestion. When drivers break rules in an attempt to get out of the jam quickly, it affects thousands of other travellers.

Police are working to keep traffic moving at Kharpada, Indapur, Mangaon and other key points on the highway. The focus is on directing vehicles into the correct lanes to ease congestion. Police Inspector Santosh Darade has appealed to drivers not to drive on the wrong side and to follow traffic rules. Officials have said that if even one vehicle breaks the rules to move ahead, it can affect traffic across the entire highway, and drivers have been urged to exercise patience.

With the flow of commuters heading to the Konkan for Ganeshotsav expected to increase further, the next few hours are seen as critical for traffic on the highway. Travellers have been urged to plan their journeys as far as possible, follow traffic rules and comply with police instructions.