{
  "id": 10098726,
  "title": "Ganeshotsav 2026: Post-Ganpati Rush Brings Bhiwandi Traffic To A Standstill; 10-15 Km Queue On Mumbai-Nashik Highway",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/ganeshotsav-2026-post-ganpati-rush-brings-bhiwandi-traffic-to-a",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-26T23:46:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/ganeshotsav-2026-post-ganpati-rush-brings-bhiwandi-traffic-to-a-standstill-10-15-km-queue-on-mumbai-nashik-highway"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bhiwandi, September 26, 2026: On Saturday morning, Bhiwandi’s major highways saw traffic movement come to a standstill as thousands of commuters, returning from Ganpati visarjan and devotees from villages, flooded the roads. A mammoth traffic jam, extending over 10 to 15 km from the Bhiwandi bypass to Kharegaon toll naka, was reported on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway. The Bhiwandi-Wada Highway experienced a similarly long queue, stretching 5-6 km from Rohal to Supegaon. The severity of the congestion caused a normal 15-minute journey to extend to two to three hours. Vehicles were trapped for hours, leaving motorists, workers, students, traders, and vendors struggling to reach their destinations on time. Sunil Maurya, who was traveling in an ambulance with his wife from Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli to Sion Hospital, reported being stuck in the traffic for hours, with his estimated travel time to Sion stretching to nearly three hours. The prolonged congestion has raised concerns about the city's traffic management system, especially given the large-scale movement of people following Ganpati visarjan. The Bhiwandi-Wada Highway faced additional strain due to ongoing road work, with a section up to Ambadi concretized, forcing traffic from both directions to use a single lane. The slow-moving heavy vehicles in the restricted stretch further exacerbated the congestion. Some motorists attempting to overtake added to the traffic woes, causing the traffic to move at a snail's pace. The congestion lasted over an hour and a half, leaving commuters trapped in their vehicles for extended periods. Students, office-goers, traders, and vendors were among those affected by the traffic. Traffic police presence was questioned by those affected, as they claimed a lack of visible traffic police personnel and officials at several affected stretches. Traffic police blamed the sudden congestion on the significant increase in traffic following Friday’s holiday, as most roads were comparatively lighter on Friday due to the holiday. However, a large number of vehicles hit the roads simultaneously on Saturday morning, resulting in heavy congestion. Attempts to contact traffic police inspectors of Narpoli and Kon Gaon to address the situation were unsuccessful, as their calls and messages went unanswered.",
  "summary": "Bhiwandi, September 26, 2026: Traffic movement on Bhiwandi’s major highways came to a standstill on Saturday morning as thousands of commuters returning towards Mumbai and Thane after Ganpati visarjan, along with devotees returning from their villages and religious destinations, took to the roads simultaneously. A massive traffic jam stretching nearly 10 to 15 km from the Bhiwandi bypass to…",
  "key_points": [
    "Thousands of commuters caused 10-15 km traffic jam on Mumbai-Nashik Highway",
    "Bhiwandi-Wada Highway saw 5-6 km queue, extending journey to 2-3 hours",
    "Traffic police presence questioned due to sudden congestion"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}