Pune: As the final weekend before the Diwali festival officially begins is underway, heavy traffic congestion was seen on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway and Pune–Bengaluru national highway throughout the day on Saturday. With Laxmi Pujan being on 21st October (Tuesday), many offices have given off on Monday too, giving a straight five to six days off from work. Along with that, those who haven't got official offs have taken a leave on Monday.
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Normally, in many professional institutions, Diwali offs are for two to four days. With weekends falling at the right time, joint holidays are being used by employees.
Many people from Maharashtra, especially its western part, migrate to Pune and Mumbai for jobs and education. Diwali is the festival that is celebrated with families. Since the festival holidays have begun, many people have left for their native places in Satara, Sangli, Solapur, and Kolhapur districts. The traffic on the Mumbai to Pune lanes and Pune to Bengaluru lanes was stuck at many places. Very heavy traffic was noted at Lonavala, Dehu Road, Talegaon Dabhade, Narhe, Khed Shivapur, Satara, Karad, Ishwarpur, and Kolhapur areas. People from Karnataka and Goa living in Maharashtra also use these routes to go home.
Somnath Khot, a resident of Sangli, said, "I came to my hometown on Saturday morning. The traffic was heavy. I came here from Mumbai, and near Lonavala, I was stuck for over an hour. Again, traffic was heavy at Karad and Kasegaon. Elevated corridor work going on in the area has just increased the congestion."
Another resident, Sumedh Girmal from Kolhapur, said, "I came from Pune via bus Friday night. The booking was full on buses and trains. I had to try very hard to finally secure a reservation at an inflated price. Also, the traffic was heavy on the roads."
Roads towards Nashik, Solapur, CS & Nagar Snarl With Congestion
Roads towards Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Solapur, and Ahilyanagar also suffered heavy traffic congestion. Roads were jammed, and traffic was immobile. The freight and transport vehicles going towards eastern Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, and North India were also on this route. With that, the problem increased. Residents were left frustrated with traffic. Police and district administrations were criticized by people for not anticipating this and taking preventive measures.
Internal Traffic within Pune & Mumbai Reduces
Many local residents of Pune and Mumbai reported that internal traffic within these cities and adjacent suburbs has reduced significantly since Friday morning. It’s mainly due to many offices announcing holidays early and the migrant crowd going to their native places to celebrate the festival.
Ashutosh Waykar from Pune said, "Every year during Diwali, we experience this. The city has clean air, and the traffic is really less. People from outside the city go to their hometowns, and this is a result of that. Pune is overcrowded and wrongly managed; that's why the problem is severe during other times."
