(MENAFN- Live Mint) A huge traffic jam on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway in the Palghar district of Maharashtra left more than 500 students and commuters stranded for nearly twelve hours.

The extensive gridlock, which stretched for several kilometres near Vasai, began at approximately 5.30 pm on Tuesday. It trapped twelve buses carrying students from Classes 5 to 10 of various schools, along with some college students from neighbouring Thane and Mumbai.

The children, who were returning from a school outing near Virar, were forced to remain without food or water for several hours. As the heavy congestion meant vehicles barely inched forward throughout the evening, many students became anxious, hungry, and physically exhausted, while their worried parents waited tensely for news of their safety.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Vasai, Poornima Chowgule-Shringi, later confirmed the scale of the traffic jam, which police were working hard to clear.

Community Response

As the crisis deepened, members of a local social organisation rushed to the site. They distributed water and biscuits to the stranded children and assisted drivers to manoeuvre the coaches through the congested lanes.

While some vehicles eventually managed to take a detour, others had to slowly inch forward through the tailbacks.

According to news agency PTI, sources said that the last of the stranded coaches reached its destination by 6 AM on Wednesday, finally bringing the twelve-hour ordeal to an end.

The Cause and Criticism

The traffic congestion was reportedly triggered by the diversion of heavy vehicles due to ongoing repair works on the Ghodbunder highway in Thane.

This resulted in an excessive traffic load being funnelled onto the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, said an activist cited by PTI.

"The students were crying due to hunger and exhaustion. It was heartbreaking to see them suffer because of the poor traffic management," the activist was quoted as saying by PTI.

Parents of the children and local residents voiced strong criticism, placing the blame for the disruption squarely on poor planning and a clear lack of coordination among the responsible authorities. Residents are now demanding that the traffic department and civic authorities take immediate corrective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future, particularly when road repair work and traffic diversions are planned.

"Our children were left helpless for hours. There was no police, no information, no system in place," one of the parents said.

An official from the Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar police control room said there was a massive traffic jam, which was being cleared, according to the PTI report.

"The congestion is slowly easing, but movement remains sluggish," the official said.

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