At least 170 students from two different schools situated in Dadar and Malad in Mumbai were stranded at the most criticised Thane's Ghodbunder Road traffic for hours before the police rescued them. The school buses with students were returning from a picnic and took the route of State Highway 42, which connects Western Express Highway, however, due to repair work on the road, vehicles were stuck ina traffic jam for nearly six hours on Tuesday night, October 14.
Traffic jams and potholes on Ghodbunder Road are not new for people of Thane. Despite protests from residents of the area, they continued to deny justice. 18 accident-related deaths were reported in this area due to potholes, ongoing construction work and traffic.
Coming back to the school bus, the incident created panic among teachers and students as parents were waiting for their children to reach home. According Mid-Day report, school children aged between 10-15 were coming back in four school buses from Palghar after their picnic at a resort.
The school bus operators from Dadar-based school to Mid-Day that left the park at around 5 pm after the picnic, but were stuck in traffic on the Ghodbunder road stretch by 5.30 and remained stranded in the same stretch until 11 pm. Students were hungry as they were left without food or water, which further created panic among the staff.
Another six buses carrying students from the junior college in Malad were stuck in the traffic on the same stretch of Ghodbunder Road. Parents and drivers said there was no warning about the road closure, allegedly due to repair works.
Help messages and calls were made at the emergency number 100, but allegedly went unanswered, sources told Mid-day. Several posts on X were also sent to ministers, the Mumbai Police Commissioner, and local authorities, but no immediate assistance came.
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Later, bus operators arranged biscuits, food and water for students. In some cases, students were allowed to use the nearby restaurant facilities and the police chowki’s toilet. However, help came from Naigaon Police; local police officers from Naigaon rescued the stranded buses to a nearby hotel, where the children were given food and shelter.
Meanwhile, several lanes connecting Ghodbunder Road had been shut for vehicular traffic for four days from October 11, 2025, to October 14, 2025 for repair work. The repair work was taken up from the Fountain hotel till the Gaimukh Ghat. Thane Traffic Police had also issued an advisory for the closure of several roads.