Commuters turn Missing Link into selfie spot a day after inauguration

Nilesh Desai, another Pune resident and regular commuter, drew a parallel with the expressway’s early days. “Commuters must understand that the bridge is a restricted, critical engineering section meant for smooth traffic flow and not a viewing gallery. Even when the Mumbai-Pune Expressway was first inaugurated, people used to halt and wander along the e-way, which led to accidents and casualties. Police must take strict action against such violations, and commuters should also not jeopardise other people’s lives,” he said.

‘Calling for Disaster’

The issue quickly caught attention on social media platform, X, with users expressing a mix of alarm, frustration, and some sympathy.

“This is calling for disaster,” said Yogesh Zambare, a business analyst. Bhagyesh Joshi, a Mumbai resident, blamed a lack of awareness: “It is a lack of civic sense by ‘educated’ people.”

Rohan Shetty, a geo-physical engineer, questioned basic road discipline. “Why is it so hard for people to follow lane discipline in India? Why use hazard lights in the tunnel, and what’s with stopping for photoshoots in the middle of the expressway? The emergency lane is for emergency service vehicles – not for sightseeing stops,” he said.

Another user raised questions about administrative preparedness. “It’s hilarious that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) or the traffic cops didn’t expect this to happen. Don’t they have pre-launch meetings to discuss this and put preventive action plans in place?” a user said.

Sandeep Parkhi, another user, however, urged patience. “It would happen only in the first couple of days due to the initial excitement. Nobody stops on Atal Setu now. Ours is a people- and emotion-driven nation, rather than a process-driven one. So police also normally allow cars to stop for a few minutes,” he said.

What the rules say

Three days before the inauguration, the Additional Director General of Police (Traffic) for Maharashtra, Praveen Salunke, issued a formal notification fixing speed limits for the Missing Link – 100 kmph for cars and light motor vehicles, and 80 kmph for passenger vehicles and buses, in line with the existing expressway limits outside the ghat section.

Despite the violations being visible, police say their hands are partially tied. Speaking to The Indian Express, Tanaji Chikhale, Superintendent of Police, Highway Traffic, Raigad, explained the ground reality. “Being a newly launched infrastructure project, people are curious and halting for the view. We have officials there to move them along, but we are not imposing fines yet as no prohibitory signboards have been placed on that stretch by MSRDC. However, such acts are punishable under Sections 122 and 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act,” he said.

Section 122 pertains to leaving a vehicle in a position or condition that poses a risk to other road users, pedestrians, or passengers.

Chikhale added that signboards would be installed soon. “We have asked MSRDC to install the signboards at the earliest. In the meantime, highway police officials are continuously patrolling the stretch to prevent anyone from halting and causing risk to other commuters,” he said.