Mumbai rains: Monday commute on Sion-Panvel highway turns into nightmare

Monday morning commute on the Sion-Panvel highway turned into a nightmare for motorists as the downpour led to knee-deep water accumulating on the road.

Sion-Panvel highway is one of the busiest highways in the country and an important junction for vehicles going towards Pune, Goa and the southern cities of Maharashtra via the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Traffic police officers had to shut the highway for half an hour owing to the waterlogging. Sunil Lokhande, deputy commissioner of police, traffic, said, “The waterlogging was caused by heavy gush of water from Pandavkada hills as a canal broke. Also, the desilting work at Kopra nullah was not done properly, leading to water overflowing onto the highway.” Lokhande said they have asked City and Industrial Development corporation (Cidco) to look into the issue. “By afternoon, traffic was smooth and there was no water on the road,” he said.

Ramesh Giri, executive engineer, Cidco, said they are looking into the issue and will fix it soon.

Rainwater also accumulated on the Sion-Panvel highway at Turbhe and near DY Patil University in Nerul, slowing down traffic. K Gaikwad, senior inspector, Turbhe traffic unit said, “The rainwater blocked two lanes of the Panvel-bound carriageway. A team of civic officials and PWD officials cleared a few clogged drains in an hour.” Commuters said the highway was not usable for nearly an hour. “I waited for more than 45 minutes to resume my travel towards Mumbai,” said Akash Divte, 45, a Kharghar resident. Panvel received 116mm rain on Monday. The T-junction at Airoli was also shut for half an hour because of waterlogging.

LAKE AT KHARGHAR OVERFLOWS

A lake at sector 35G in Kharghar overflowed, flooding the road. A fence, which had been recently installed after four kids drowned last year, was invisible on Monday. Cidco is yet to install a warning signage at the spot.

First Published: Jul 09, 2019 05:04 IST