Mumbai-Pune Expressway Traffic: Commuters Left Without Food Or Water and Face Severe Hardships As Jam Drags On For 22 Hours

A massive traffic jam has brought movement on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway to a standstill after a gas tanker overturned in the Adoshi tunnel around 5 pm on Tuesday. Traffic heading towards Mumbai has remained blocked for nearly 22 hours, with long queues of vehicles still stretching across the expressway and the old Mumbai–Pune highway. The tanker overturned near a tunnel in the Khandala ghat, triggering a gas leak that raised serious safety concerns and forced authorities to halt traffic. Even after several hours, commuters continue to face severe delays, leading to exhaustion and distress among stranded passengers.

The prolonged congestion has badly affected travellers with urgent commitments. Several commuters were on their way to important business meetings but were unable to reach their destinations. Vehicles moving towards Mumbai have been stuck for hours, worsening the situation. A tempo driver who got trapped in the jam at around 7 am blamed the administration, alleging that no prior warning or advisory was issued. Among those stranded is a passenger travelling from Latur to Mumbai with a cancer patient, who was scheduled to reach Tata Hospital by 8 am. Despite leaving Latur at 10 pm, they have been stuck in traffic since 4 am.

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Other travellers reported being stuck since as early as 3 am, with some even forced to cancel their flights due to the delay. Angry commuters said that authorities should have allowed one-way traffic movement to ease the situation. With people stranded for over 20 to 22 hours, access to food and drinking water has become a serious concern. Efforts to stop the gas leak began on Tuesday evening and continued until 4 am without success, before resuming again in the morning. NDRF teams, Tata officials, and chemical experts have reached the site, but full restoration may take several more hours. Authorities have advised avoiding the expressway and using alternative routes via Tamhini Ghat, Karjat–Raigad, or Malshej Ghat and Alephata–Thane.