Vehicles coming from Pune, Goa asked not to enter Mumbai

MUMBAI: Vehicles coming from Goa and Pune have been advised not to enter the rain-battered Mumbai today as a precautionary measure to avoid a grid-locked situation in the megapolis, the police said.

The Navi Mumbai Police has issued directives to its traffic wing to send back cars, buses, trucks and other heavy vehicles and not allow them until the traffic situation in Mumbai normalises.

As torrential rains pounded the financial capital and adjoining districts of Thane, Navi Mumbai and Raigad, police is taking precautionary measures to avoid any untoward incident and ease traffic on the roads, official said.

"As vehicular traffic condition in Mumbai is worsening, vehicles travelling towards Mumbai from Goa-Mumbai highway and Pune-Mumbai highway are advised not to enter Mumbai as they will get stuck after the Vashi toll plaza (in Navi Mumbai)," Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai, Hemant Nagrale said.

Traffic personnel deployed on the two highways, are directed to send back cars, buses and other vehicles and also request the passengers to cooperate with police and obey instructions, Nagrale said.

Meanwhile, movement of traffic in the city was snail- paced due to heavy waterlogging at many junctions, like Kurla traffic division, Lal Bahadur Shastri Road, Surve Junction, Kurla Depo, Shital Talkies, Kamani Junction, Halav bridge on Santacruz-Chambur Link Road, a senior Mumbai Police official said.

Roads towards Bandra Kalanagar, MMRDA, MTNL, BKC were blocked due to waterlogging and traffic snarls were witnessed on the route between Chembur and BKC, the official said.

Providing some respite to commuters stuck on the road, waterlogging has been cleared on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) and traffic resumed on both the sides, he said.

Heavy rains also affected the immersion (visarjan) of Ganesh idols on the fifth day today.

Police has advised public to avoid entering in water because of the high tide alert, including at key immersion point Girgaum Chowpatty in South Mumbai, he said.