Mumbai: Mumbai Congress chief and Lok Sabha MP Varsha Gaikwad on Wednesday reacted to the 24-hour-long, 20 km traffic jam on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway after a tanker overturned and began leaking flammable propylene gas.
Taking to X, the Congress leader said, "A 20+ hour traffic jam on Mumbai Pune Highway. As per the government's own estimates apart from private vehicles 163 state transport buses have also been stuck. Think of the plight of women and children who have been stuck like this for hours," she said, sharing a drone shot of the standstill.
Sharing a similar incident from last year, she said, "Last year we had seen a massive jam at Ghodbunder road near Mumbai. It had even led to the death of a small child who couldn't be taken to the hospital on time. Traffic management and emergency response is deteriorating day by day. It is costing not just time but lives. Who will take responsibility for this absolute mess?"
The tanker, which was en route to Gujarat for an industrial delivery, was under high pressure when the accident occurred. A technical team initially waited for the pressure to subside before attempting to seal the leak using plaster of Paris and chemical compounds; however, the attempt was only partially successful. As a precaution, an empty tanker was brought in to facilitate the transfer of the gas using a warm-cycle process.
The operation lasted for more than 24 hours, during which traffic remained suspended and vehicles were diverted through the old NH-48 route. Officials said the road would be fully reopened only after the gas was completely removed and the tanker repositioned with the help of cranes.
The tanker driver, Ratan Singh Uday Narayan Singh (44), a resident of Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, sustained injuries to his right palm and other parts of the body and was shifted to MGM Hospital, Kamothe.
