Aaditya Thackeray slams Maharashtra govt over Mumbai-Pune Expressway traffic chaos

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 4 (ANI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday criticised the Maharashtra government for failing to provide basic amenities to commuters stranded on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway for over 20 hours.
In a post on X, he questioned why authorities couldn't intervene and offer food, water, and toilets, calling the situation "beyond absurd."
"It's beyond absurd that the Government can't intervene and help people stuck on the Mumbai- Pune Expressway for over 20 hours. For all the talk of development and good governance, a basic intervention could have helped by reaching out to the people and offering food/ water/ toilets at certain distances from where they're stuck," he posted.
Thackeray also suggested that toll operators should bear responsibility for providing these services, given that they maintain and operate the highways.
"Been hearing of the plight of the people and the helplessness with which they've had to deal with this. Shouldn't the toll operators be made to pay for these services that they "maintain" and "operate" the highways for?" added Aaditya Thackeray.

It’s beyond absurd that the Government can’t intervene and help people stuck on the Mumbai- Pune Expressway for over 20 hours.

For all the talk of development and good governance, a basic intervention could have helped by reaching out to the people and offering food/ water/…

— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) February 4, 2026

The chaos followed an accident late Tuesday night when a tanker carrying high-grade propane gas overturned on the Mumbai corridor of the expressway and began leaking. Given the highly flammable nature of the gas, authorities immediately closed the road and imposed strict safety measures. The tanker, which was headed to Gujarat for industrial delivery, was under high pressure at the time of the accident.
A technical team first waited for pressure levels to drop and attempted to seal the leak using plaster of Paris and chemical substances, but the effort was only partially successful. As a safety measure, an empty tanker was brought in, and the gas was transferred using a warm cycle process. Officials said the operation continued for more than 24 hours, during which traffic remained shut, and vehicles were diverted via the old NH-48 route.
Only after complete removal of the gas and repositioning of the tanker using cranes will the road be fully reopened, officials said. (ANI)