Mumbai–Ahmedabad Highway traffic jam: 20 school picnics to Vasai postponed

A night of chaos on the MumbaindashAhmedabad highway has forced schools across Mumbai to hit pause on their picnic plans After hundreds of students were stranded in buses for nearly 12 hours on Tuesday night over 20 upcoming school picnics to Vasai have now been postponed said Anil Garg chairman of the Educational Tour Operators AssociationldquoNearly 20 to 22 schools have postponed their trips until after the Diwali vacations Traffic congestion continues across the city mdash even today two buses from Nashik carrying 64 students from a Kandivlibased school were delayed by two hoursrdquo added Anil GargSchool buses with students stranded for hours on the MumbaindashAhmedabad Highway during Tuesday nightrsquos traffic jam PICSPECIAL ARRANGEMENTThe decision came after a traffic nightmare that left 6ndash10 buses carrying students from various city schools stuck on the highway through the night The buses returning from Vasai after annual picnics and industrial visits were caught in a massive jam that began around 6 pm and lasted until dawnldquoWhat was supposed to be a fun day turned into a sleepless anxious ordealrdquo said Prof Suresh Sudhapeli coordinator for students of Mother Teresa Junior College which had over 300 students travelling that evening ldquoOur buses were stuck for almost 10 hours Many students nearly fainted or felt unwell due to dehydration and exhaustion Teachers had to walk long distances to fetch water and foodrdquoldquoThe college was scheduled for an industrial visit followed by a recreational park However it took nearly six hours just to reach the site and by then it was lunchtime We had to cut the visit short and leave early in the eveningWe had arranged food snacks and enough water bottles for the students and we kept parents updated throughout the night Thankfully all the students were older so there were no serious medical issues But the public should have been informed in advance about such road blockagesrdquo said Dr Riyaz Khan principal and chairman of Mother Teresa High SchoolHeavy traffic on the MumbaindashAhmedabad highway near Fountain Hotel Ghodbunder on WednesdayBy the time the buses reached Malwani early the next morning students were drained phones were dead and parents were in panic ldquoWe kept trying to reach our children but couldnrsquot It was a sleepless night My daughter came home with a feverrdquo said Vasim Akbar Shaikh a Malwani residentStudents recalled the stretch being pitch dark surrounded by forest with no streetlights or facilities nearby ldquoTeachers brought vegetable pulao and water on foot to help us at around 2 amrdquo said Syed Ruman Akhtar a Std XII studentApart from students of Mother Teresa junior college midday learned that younger students from a Goregaonbased and Dadarbased school were also a part of the traffic holdupPolice said heavy congestion on the highway worsened by halted trucks and ongoing roadwork caused the massive delay ldquoAfter hours of waiting some truck drivers simply parked and slept blocking the road furtherrdquo said Mangesh Chaudhary who reached the spot early Wednesday to help ease trafficVehicles crawl through a traffic snarl near Fountain Hotel on the Ghodbunder stretch PICSNIMESH DAVEldquoAs soon as we were informed we coordinated with the Chinchoti traffic branch and arranged special piloting for four school buses Around 100 police personnel were deployed overnight to manage the situationrdquo said DCP Traffic Ashok VirkarA highway in crisisThe massive congestion was caused by the diversion of heavy vehicles from the Ghodbunder Highway due to ongoing repair work pushing the load onto NH48 A lane closure near the Indian Oil petrol pump on the Thanebound carriageway further worsened the gridlock School and college students from Mumbai were trapped near Vasai for over 12 hours mdash from 530 pm to 6 amSome of the stranded buses belonged to Shardashram School in Dadar When the situation escalated the school reached out to MNS chief Raj Thackeray for help Acting on his instructions party leader Avinash Jadhav and local workers coordinated with police and residents to rescue the children providing food water and temporary shelter at a nearby resort The buses finally moved at dawnThis isnrsquot an isolated case In July a 49yearold woman died when her ambulance was stuck in NH48 traffic Two months later a 16monthold boy lost his life en route to a Mumbai hospital during a similar jam Inputs by Megha Parmar