Traffic chaos on Mumbai-Pune Expressway after tanker overturns; passengers stuck for hours
Mumbai (PTI): Traffic was paralysed overnight on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway after a gas tanker overturned in the Khandala Ghat section, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded and causing massive congestion on both carriageways, officials said on Wednesday.
Vehicles remained stationary near the accident site for several hours amid the traffic chaos stretching for over 12 hours, leaving passengers, including women and children, without food, water, and toilet facilities.
The highway traffic police have appealed to motorists to avoid travelling on the expressway as far as possible until normal traffic movement is restored.
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway is India's first 6-lane wide concrete, access-controlled tolled expressway. It spans a distance of 94.5 km connecting Mumbai, Raigad and Navi Mumbai with Pune.
According to the expressway control room, the gas tanker overturned on the highway at around 5 pm on Tuesday.
The incident occurred near the Adoshi tunnel in Raigad district when the tanker, allegedly travelling at high speed, lost control due to the slope and overturned. Soon after the accident, gas was found leaking from the tanker, causing panic among motorists, an official said.
The tanker was carrying propylene gas, which is highly flammable. As a precautionary measure, the police immediately closed traffic towards Mumbai to prevent any untoward incident.
The Mumbai-bound traffic was diverted onto the Pune-bound carriageway for about a 2-km stretch due to the accident.
However, normal movement could not be restored due to a continuous gas leak from the tanker, resulting in long queues and crawling traffic even for Pune-bound motorists, an official at the expressway control room said.
The impact was severe on motorists, with several passengers stranded for hours.
"People have been stuck and desperately waiting for help. Please do something," wrote X user VyasKarn.
A conductor of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus told PTI around midnight that their vehicle had been stationary for over six hours near the accident site, leaving passengers without food, water and toilet facilities.
Many motorists voiced their frustration on social media, with some describing the expressway as a "parking lot" and advising others to avoid travel unless necessary.
"Mumbai-Pune Expressway is a literal parking lot right now. Traffic crawling for hours near Lonavala and Khandala due to a truck overturn. If you absolutely don't have to travel, don't," wrote X user pranav_72.
The Pune-bound motorists were also inconvenienced due to the traffic snarls.
"Started my journey from Andheri West around 7 pm via cab. Will be reaching Pune around 3.40 am. Worst traffic experience I ever had," another X user, Sohit Manik, wrote.
The Maharashtra Highway Traffic Police have advised motorists to avoid the Mumbai–Pune Expressway until regular traffic movement is restored.
The tanker overturned in the Khandala Ghat section on the Mumbai-bound corridor near the Adoshi tunnel, as per a statement of the highway traffic police shared by a spokesperson of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
A highly flammable gas leaked from the tanker after the accident, and all agencies concerned were working at the site on a war footing to contain the situation, it said.
The Mumbai-bound carriageway was closed in the interest of vehicle and commuter safety, leading to traffic congestion on both the Mumbai and Pune-bound lanes of the expressway, the statement added.
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Hospital wall collapse: CM orders suspension of executive engineer; kin of victims get solatium
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday ordered the immediate suspension of an executive engineer for the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital wall collapse that claimed the lives of seven people, during a high-level review meeting at Vidhana Soudha.
A compensation of Rs 5 lakh, as announced by the CM Siddaramaiah, was distributed to the families of seven victims who lost their lives in the tragedy on Wednesday evening, which occurred due to heavy downpour with gusty winds and hailstorm.
The meeting of municipal commissioners of the five corporations, chaired by the chief minister and attended by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, focused on fixing accountability and examining lapses that led to the tragedy.
"Why was soil dumped in a way that damaged the wall? Why did you not monitor this?" Siddaramaiah asked, pulling up hospital authorities during the meeting.
A statement from the chief minister's office said that the CM ordered the immediate suspension of the executive engineer of the Karnataka Health Systems Development Project (KHSDP).
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He also questioned the hospital authorities, asking why they failed to monitor the dumping of soil that weakened the structure.
The chief minister directed that a notice be issued to the head of the Hospital.
During the meeting, Siddaramaiah said the rains had caused extensive damage in the city, with over 250 trees uprooted.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to take necessary measures before the onset of the monsoon to avoid untoward incidents.
Commissioners of all five municipal zones in Bengaluru have been asked to take precautionary steps, including trimming dry and dangerous tree branches, the CMO said.
Siddaramaiah also directed them to get the silt cleared from stormwater drains to prevent flooding, and that immediate action be taken to remove debris and fallen branches from roads.
Further, he instructed that barricades be placed at underpasses where water stagnates and restricts public movement.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said in a statement that Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad distributed compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased on Thursday.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed amid heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
Police said the victims, comprising three from Bengaluru, two from Kerala on a study tour and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Assam, had taken shelter near the wall when it suddenly gave way, trapping them under the debris.
The chief minister questioned officials over the dumping of soil near the wall despite knowing it could weaken the structure, and directed that a notice be issued to the head of Bowring Hospital.
Siddaramaiah, who had visited the spot soon after the incident along with senior officials, reviewed the situation and ordered a detailed probe into the collapse.
