Mumbai-Pune Expressway Paralyzed by Tanker Accident, Commuters Face Severe Hardship
A propylene gas tanker overturned near the Adoshi tunnel on the Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Tuesday evening, bringing one of India's busiest highways to a near-complete standstill. The incident triggered widespread chaos and left thousands of commuters stranded for hours without access to basic necessities or official updates about the unfolding situation.
Complete Communication Breakdown and Stranded Travelers
The accident occurred in the Borghat toll area along the Mumbai lane, severely disrupting traffic on both Mumbai-Pune and Pune-Mumbai routes. What followed was a test of endurance for commuters who found themselves trapped with no information from authorities.
Filmmaker Anupam Barve, who was traveling from Pune to Mumbai for a visa appointment, described being stuck just one kilometer from the accident spot for nearly six hours. "There was not one police van passing from the opposite lane to announce the incident or inform stranded commuters. Everyone was clueless," he recalled.
Barve highlighted the particular vulnerability of certain groups during the crisis: "There were senior citizens, women, and children, the most vulnerable, who were stranded for hours without any update." He managed to return to Lonavala and take a 250-kilometer detour via Tamhini Ghat, finally reaching Mumbai at 5 am after witnessing traffic snarls stretching approximately 25 kilometers.
Essential Services Completely Unavailable
The lack of basic facilities created a miserable experience for those trapped. "People usually carry one water bottle for a three-hour drive and expect to refill at food malls. So there was no food, water, or toilet facilities," Barve explained, emphasizing how unprepared travelers were for such extended delays.
Industrialist Madhukar Jambhale experienced an 11-hour nightmare during his return journey to Pune. What should have been a three-hour bus trip from Dadar to Shivajinagar turned into an ordeal that saw him reach the Khalapur toll plaza six hours into the journey. "Men had the option to at least relieve themselves outdoors, but women faced the most inconvenience because of the accident, as there were no toilets or water facilities on the way," he noted.
Medical Emergencies and Traffic Management Failures
The situation escalated beyond mere inconvenience to potentially dangerous circumstances. Parineeti Marathe, Vice-Principal at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, witnessed alarming scenes during her delayed return from Mumbai. "An ambulance was stuck, e-Shivneri bus and electric vehicles were stranded due to battery runouts, and it was absolute chaos," she reported. "There was no scope for help in case of a medical emergency, and no police personnel to manage the traffic."
Jambhale, who has been traveling the Mumbai-Pune route since 1995, stated he had never encountered such severe traffic before. "Except at the accident spot, there were no police present to regulate traffic on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway," he observed, pointing to a significant gap in emergency response.
Calls for Improved Crisis Management and Infrastructure
The incident has sparked urgent calls for better preparedness and infrastructure improvements. Barve stressed the need for authorities to develop a standard operating procedure for such emergencies. "Authorities must seriously ponder a standard operating procedure, acknowledging that such a huge volume of people get trapped in such a small area," he said.
Specific suggestions from affected commuters include:
- Establishing an active information portal or social media feed for real-time updates during emergencies
- Creating separate lanes for heavy vehicles to prevent similar incidents
- Expediting missing link road projects to provide alternative routes
- Improving basic facilities along the expressway for stranded travelers
- Implementing better traffic regulation and police presence during disruptions
Marathe emphasized the need for "stricter traffic regulations to ensure heavy vehicles maintain the left lane" while Jambhale called for immediate government action: "It is high time the government focuses on capacity building and deploys resources to tackle such disasters. Just one tanker leak stalled the entire expressway."
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway accident has exposed critical gaps in India's highway emergency response systems, highlighting how a single vehicle incident can paralyze major transportation corridors and leave thousands vulnerable without essential services or information.
