Ganeshotsav 2026: Post-Ganpati Rush Brings Bhiwandi Traffic To A Standstill; 10-15 Km Queue On Mumbai-Nashik Highway

Bhiwandi, September 26, 2026: Traffic movement on Bhiwandi’s major highways came to a standstill on Saturday morning as thousands of commuters returning towards Mumbai and Thane after Ganpati visarjan, along with devotees returning from their villages and religious destinations, took to the roads simultaneously.

A massive traffic jam stretching nearly 10 to 15 km from the Bhiwandi bypass to Kharegaon toll naka was reported on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway. The situation was equally chaotic on the Bhiwandi-Wada Highway, where vehicles remained stuck in a queue stretching nearly 5-6 km from Rohal to Supegaon.

The traffic congestion on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway was so severe that a journey which normally takes around 15 minutes was reportedly taking two to three hours. Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded for hours, leaving motorists, workers, students, traders, vegetable vendors and milk suppliers struggling to reach their destinations on time.

Ambulance Caught In Traffic

Among those caught in the congestion was Sunil Maurya, who was travelling by ambulance with his wife from Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli to Sion Hospital. Maurya said they had been stuck in the traffic for hours and the estimated travel time to reach Sion had stretched to nearly three hours.

The prolonged congestion has raised concerns over the preparedness of the traffic management system, particularly after the large-scale movement of people following Ganpati visarjan.

Both Directions Squeezed Into One Lane

The situation on the Bhiwandi-Wada Highway was aggravated by ongoing road work. A section of the road up to Ambadi has been concretised, resulting in traffic from both directions being diverted through a single lane.

The movement of heavy vehicles through the restricted stretch further slowed traffic. Attempts by some motorists to overtake and move ahead reportedly added to the congestion, causing traffic to move at a snail’s pace.

A long queue of vehicles was reported between Rohal and Supegaon from Saturday morning. Traffic movement remained severely affected for more than one-and-a-half hours, with commuters forced to remain inside their vehicles for prolonged periods.

Students travelling to schools and colleges, office-goers, traders and vegetable and milk vendors were among those affected by the congestion.

Traffic Police Presence Questioned

The prolonged traffic jam also triggered questions over traffic management arrangements. Despite the congestion continuing for hours, commuters claimed that an adequate number of traffic police personnel and officials were not visible at several affected stretches.

Traffic police personnel attributed Saturday’s sudden congestion to the sharp increase in traffic following Friday’s holiday. According to them, traffic movement had remained light on Friday due to the holiday, while a large number of vehicles came onto the roads simultaneously on Saturday morning, resulting in heavy congestion. Traffic on both carriageways of the Mumbai-Nashik Highway was reportedly affected.

FPJ attempted to contact the traffic police inspectors of Narpoli and Kon Gaon to seek their response regarding the traffic situation. However, their calls went unanswered and no response was received to messages till the time of publication.

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Commuters caught in the massive traffic jam expressed anger over the traffic management arrangements and questioned the preparedness of the authorities despite the expected post-visarjan rush.

With a 10-km traffic queue on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway and another 5-6 km stretch of congestion on the Bhiwandi-Wada Highway, Bhiwandi witnessed severe disruption on its roads on Saturday morning, leaving thousands of commuters stranded for hours.

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