Maharashtra: Ahead of diwali festivities roads are completely jammed as people are heading towards their hometown. Although NHI has set target of completing the Satara-Kolhapur section of Pune-Bangalore highway by march 2026, but the pace of work is pretty slow. Vehicles are moving at a snail's pace in Nagthane, Umbraj, Malkapur, and traffic is often disrupted. Thousands of workers will be leaving for their villages from Mumbai-Pune for the Diwali holidays. However, there are signs that their joy will be lost in the traffic jams on the highway.
There is a large rush of vehicles at many places in Satara district on the Pune-Bangalore highway. Especially in the Malkapur, Umbraj, and Nagthane areas, vehicles are stuck for hours at a time. Now, in the backdrop of Diwali, thousands of workers will be leaving for their villages from Mumbai and Pune. Since Diwali is on Monday, the number of vehicles on the Kolhapur side lanes will increase drastically on Saturdays and Sundays. Due to this, there is a possibility of facing traffic jams on the first day of the holidays.
Thousands of vehicles have to come on service roads due to pending work on the Malkapur, Umbraj, Nagthane highways. There is also a dispute among drivers at this time. On Saturdays and Sundays, there is a situation like a traffic jam between Karad-Satara. Since the citizens are not using the national highway properly, there is a demand to reconsider the toll collection. Therefore, the district administration must take a strict stand.
Heavy vehicle drivers exacerbate highway construction traffic. Despite regulations requiring trucks and trailers to use the left lane, they frequently occupy the middle and right lanes, leading to dangerous overtaking of lighter vehicles and increased accident risk. The lack of traffic police enforcement is concerning. Furthermore, drivers, impatient after prolonged delays, often speed up immediately after clearing the congestion, further elevating the risk of accidents.