Journalism of Courage
As the fire brigade and police personnel waited for the gas leaking out of the fuel tanker that toppled to lose pressure,commuters stranded on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway,where traffic that was held up for over six hours stretched for 15 km,sweated it out in the summer heat.
The fallout of the jam was also felt at Swargate bus depot where people waiting for Pune-Mumbai bus services swelled,with many state transport buses getting delayed.
Private tour operators and Volvo bus services were also affected.
Raghunath Singh,an Axis Bank employee stuck at Khopoli for three hours said vehicles had to halt after the accident obstructed the traffic. Till 6.30 am,traffic was smooth and normal. When I reached Rasayani,traffic slowed down and came to a halt by the time I reached Khopoli. I was expecting to reach Pune by 9 am but could arrive only after 2 pm, Singh said.
Other commuters had similar tales. Human Resource professional Ranjita Damle,a resident of Bhandarkar Road,was caught in the jam at Rasayani. She had to wait for hours even as tension built up over the jam.I was returning to Pune from Mumbai after a meeting. Around 8.45 am,traffic slowed down. Police said it would be cleared and traffic would be cleared within an hour or so. However,it took them five hours to streamline traffic. It was the worst experience I had on the Expressway in years, Damle said.
We had to sit in the car for hours without anything to eat or drink. The heat was so bad we couldnt get out of the car and sit somewhere. I could move only at about 1.45 pm when police allowed traffic to move from one side, she added.
The jam affected Pune-Mumbai services of the state transport buses. According to MSRTC officials,28 buses including Shivneri,Hirkani services were delayed due to the disturbance.
Over 15 buses from Mumbai to Pune were delayed by 3 to 4 hours due to the jam. As these buses didnt return,our Pune-Mumbai services also got delayed. Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Swargate depot, said an MSRTC traffic controller.
Tour operators were hit by the jam. A driver with Girikand Travels taking clients to Mumbai said he had to forgo the plans and return to Pune midway.
There was chaos on the Expressway. I was driving our clients to Mumbai,but we were stuck in the jam just before a tunnel for over two hours. My clients were working on their laptops all the while,and then,after the long and irritating wait,they asked me to take them back to Pune. Taking the turn was tricky. I spotted another car which took a turn from the wrong side and followed it. We were stuck in the jam since 10.30 am. There was no way of getting past, said the driver,Vikram Shantaram Dande.
