TRAFFIC SLOWS DOWN; COPS SAY MORE SNARLS LIKELY THIS TIME

MUMBAI: With rains refusing to let up and waterlogging in several parts of the city, vehicular traffic was thrown into disarray in the peak hours on Monday, according to the Mumbai traffic police. The cops cautioned that with the heavy rains likely to continue and the condition of roads, traffic snarls are likely to worsen in the coming days.

Officers have issued advisories and requested commuters to check for updates before heading out this week.

At 7.30am, the traffic control room officers said a congestion had started building up on the Western Express Highway (WEH), SV Road and Link Road in the western suburbs, while traffic on the Eastern Express Highway also slowed down. Traffic had also slowed down to a crawl in Dadar, Matunga and Sion owing to waterlogging at Hindmata in Dadar and Gandhi Market Area in Kings Circle.

“Traffic has remained slowmoving at major routes, including both the express highways. During the evening, although the water receded, it did not make much of a difference,” said an officer. Lokhandwala,santacruz (West), Tilak Road in Dadar, and some roads in Kurla were also waterlogged. On Sunday, the north-bound road of Gokhale Bridge in Andheri was opened for light vehicles. However, traffic was still slow-moving on the south-bound stretch as motorists flocked to the route to avoid crawling WEH traffic. Heavy vehicles were also diverted either to Milan Flyover in Vile Parle or Thackeray flyover in Jogeshwari. Special diversions were also made for those travelling from the international airport.

COPS ASKED PEOPLE TO VENTURE OUT ONLY IF NECESSARY. THEY HAVE ASKED CITIZENS TO CHECK FOR UPDATES BEFORE HEADING OUT