Mumbai, Feb 6 (IANS) The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) on Friday criticised the BJP-led Mahayuti government, asserting that the Chief Minister had proclaimed on Republic Day that Maharashtra “will not stop” and will become “more dynamic.” However, the actual situation on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway presents a contrasting narrative, as an extraordinary 32-hour traffic ordeal has effectively “cut the string” of the government’s ambitious assertions.

The Thackeray camp in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ claimed that the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, once considered a “rosy dream” for drivers, has transitioned into a “thorny truth”. “What was meant to be a swift and comfortable journey is now defined by the constant fear of being stranded. As the government continues to drum up support for new mega-highways like the Samruddhi and Shaktipeeth, the current state of the expressway remains a tragic irony of a supposedly ‘speedy’ Maharashtra,” it said.

Referring to the traffic jam after a gas tanker overturned on the highway on Tuesday, the Thackeray camp highlighted a stark contrast between the administration’s rhetoric and the functional reality of state infrastructure. It also challenged the state government’s claims regarding infrastructure and development.

According to the editorial, the government appeared “helpless”, with no effective alternative routes or solutions to quickly rescue stranded citizens. Massive queues of vehicles stretched for 30 kilometres on both sides of the expressway, and thousands of citizens were stranded without access to food or water.

The editorial further said that the ordeal did not end with the tanker. Just as the initial congestion began to clear, a cement container broke down in the middle of the road between Talegaon and Malavali on Thursday. This second incident paralysed Mumbai-bound traffic for several more hours, marking a second consecutive day of misery for commuters.

“While leaders boast about projects like the ‘Atal Setu’, the ‘Missing Link’ and the Navi Mumbai International Airport, they appear helpless in managing existing vital arteries. Although the expressway was a visionary project initiated by the Shiv Sena chief decades ago, the government has failed to plan for the massive surge in vehicle volume seen over the last 25 years,” said the Thackeray camp.

The Thackeray camp likened the Chief Minister’s recent orders to relevant agencies to “locking the stable door after the horse has bolted”.

–IANS

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