What was meant to be a smooth drive home for Diwali turned into a gruelling ordeal for hundreds of Nagpurians travelling from Pune on the Samruddhi Mahamarg. The much-celebrated expressway, often hailed as Maharashtra’s road to progress, became a slow-moving stretch of chaos as massive traffic jams paralysed parts of the route near Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Shikrapur, and Ahilyanagar.
Videos shared on social media showed endless lines of vehicles stranded for hours, with frustrated travellers stepping out to stretch their legs or check on their vehicles. What should have been a 10 to 12-hour journey stretched to nearly 18 hours or more, as commuters crawled under the blazing October sun.
To make matters worse, several petrol pumps along the route ran dry due to the heavy load of vehicles. The few operational ones witnessed overwhelming rushes, with serpentine queues spilling onto the main highway, worsening the gridlock. Many drivers said they were stuck for hours without access to food, water, or toilets.
Ongoing construction work, a lane closure, and the festive surge of vehicles all came together to choke the route. With inadequate traffic management and little on-ground assistance, tempers flared and social media filled with videos and complaints from stranded travellers.
The Samruddhi Mahamarg, officially named Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, was envisioned as a world-class expressway connecting Nagpur to Mumbai. Stretching over 700 kilometres, it was designed to cut travel time between the two cities to less than eight hours. Built at a cost of over ₹55,000 crore, it stands as one of India’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.
However, this Diwali weekend exposed serious logistical gaps. Travellers complained of poor coordination between highway authorities and local police, especially around construction zones and diversions.
For thousands trying to reach home in time for the festival, the Samruddhi was less a symbol of progress and more a test of endurance. The festival of lights may have brought families together, but this year, it also united weary travellers, stuck in one long, unmoving line on Maharashtra’s grand expressway.
