Mumbai Chokes on Traffic Over BJP’s Foundation Day Event

A traffic advisory warned commuters about expected traffic congestion in certain areas of the city.

Many commuters in Mumbai were left frustrated as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 38th foundation day celebrations on Friday, 6 April brought traffic to a standstill in the Western Express highway.

(Photo: ANI Screengrab)

Many commuters in Mumbai were left frustrated as the Bharatiya Janata Party's 38th foundation day celebrations on Friday, 6 April brought traffic to a standstill in the Western Express highway.

A traffic advisory circulated by the the Mumbai traffic police warned commuters about expected traffic congestion in certain areas of the city.

The Hindu quoted the BJP's Maharashtra unit chief, Raosaheb Danve as saying that more than 50,000 buses and vehicles and 28 special trains were employed for workers during the foundation day events.

On Friday, the roads around the Bandra kurla Complex were jammed as BJP workers swarmed in to attend the celebrations.

The situation was similar even on 5 April, as around 10,000 BJP Yuva Morcha workers took out a bike rally to welcome the party president Amit Shah.

Although an airline advisory caution Mumbaikars to leave well ahead to time, many complained about missing their flights due to a traffic jam close to the airport.

The Indian Express quoted Joint Commissioner of Police (traffic) Amitesh Kumar as saying:

Usually, there is traffic on the Western Express Highway but today (on Thursday) there was a delay of 30-45 minutes because of the people who had gathered to welcome Amit Shah.

Even Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan took to twitter to humourously vent out his frustration on the traffic situation.