Mumbai: Traffic thrown out of gear for hours on Sion-Panvel Highway

The Sion-Panvel Highway

Commuters on the Sion-Panvel Highway were majorly inconvenienced, after traffic snarls near Vashi Naka left them stuck for hours on Tuesday. Sources from the traffic police department said these snarls are created due to frequent breakdowns of vehicles, owing to the bad condition of the roads.

According to Hindustan Times, motorists took over an hour covering even a 1km stretch and by afternoon 1pm, a 3km-long pile-up reached Vashi Plaza.

Also read - Navi Mumbai: Sion-Panvel highway officials booked for pothole death

Fed up of incessant traffic woes officials have taken the onus of filling the potholes on the Sion-Panvel Highway by themselves.

Traffic department has deployed additional officers since the onset of the rains and have asked toll naka officials have been requested to leave vehicles without collecting toll in the event of a pile-up.

The Sion-Panvel highway is nothing short of a highway to hell. Four officials of the Sion-Panvel Tollway Private Limited (SPTPL), which is tasked with the upkeep of the ill-maintained roadway, have been booked after an accident last week killed one driver.

The incident took place last Tuesday at 6.30 am on the Uran Phata flyover. A speeding truck on its way to Mumbai rammed into the rear end of a pickup van carrying fish, which collided with two more trucks. A driver died on the spot, while two others were injured.

The highway is poorly maintained and is slippery at several stretches and full of potholes as well. Taking a serious note of the incident, the Nerul police registered a case against five people, including SPTPL employees - Pawnit Singh Seti, vice president, Vibhudutt Satpati, assistant vice president, Ramzan Patel, project manager and Sanjit Shrivastav, maintenance manager and Santosh Rajput, the truck driver that caused the accident.