Villagers Beg PM Modi For Help As Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway Traffic Jam Cripples Daily Life
More than a hundred villagers from Maharashtra have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking for permission to die by suicide. Their lives have been turned upside down by five straight days of traffic jams on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad National Highway. The emotional appeal shows how years of poor planning and ignored infrastructure issues have left rural communities in crisis.
Residents from Sasunavghar, Maljipada, Sasupada, Bobat Pada, and Patharpada held protests on Friday, accusing the authorities of ignoring the crumbling condition of NH-48. The road is full of potholes, dug-up sections, and repair work that never seems to end. What used to be a one-hour journey now takes five to six hours. “Dying is better than living like this,” said local activist Sushant Patil, who has been leading the protests.
The situation is not just about long commutes. Children have missed school exams because they could not reach on time. Adults have missed flights, hospital appointments, and even family emergencies. The nearest hospital in Mira Road, which normally takes 20 minutes to reach, now takes over three hours in traffic.
The problem got worse after local authorities ignored a traffic order by the Mira-Bhayander and Vasai-Virar police. The order had banned heavy vehicles from using the Chinchoti Naka stretch between October 11 and 14 because of road work on Ghodbunder Road. But large trucks continued to use the route, bringing traffic to a complete standstill in the Naigaon-Chinchoti area.
The breaking point came when 500 students returning from a school picnic were trapped in the jam for nearly 12 hours. Twelve buses carrying school and college students were stuck near Vasai from 5:30 pm on Tuesday until early Wednesday morning. Many of the children had no food or water for hours. By night, they were tired, hungry, and scared, while anxious parents waited for updates.
Local social groups stepped in when officials didn’t. Volunteers handed out water and biscuits and helped drivers move through the chaos. “It was heartbreaking to see the children crying out of hunger and exhaustion,” one activist said.
The crisis caught political attention when MNS chief Raj Thackeray sent help for the stranded students. His party members brought food and water and helped clear a route for the buses. Former MAMFDC chairman Javed Shroff praised Thackeray’s move online, calling it a “yeomen and good initiative” for ensuring the students’ safe return.
The chaos on NH-48 is not new. For nearly eight years, people have faced repeated traffic nightmares due to endless construction. Repairs on the Versova Bridge, followed by new bridge projects, caused jams lasting years. Heavy rains make things worse by flooding potholes, and when the water dries, the road surface breaks again. Despite the government spending around ₹600 crore to rebuild the highway with a cement surface, the problems have not gone away.
The jam has also revealed poor coordination between the agencies handling the highway. The National Highways Authority of India has not commented on the issue, and local police seem overwhelmed by the sheer volume of vehicles. For residents of Vasai and Virar, NH-48 is the only road to Mumbai. Alternatives like the Ro-Ro ferry service are overcrowded, with waiting lines as long as 125 vehicles. Travellers now have to allow at least five extra hours for even short trips. Elderly passengers, who cannot depend on the crowded local trains, are the worst affected.
The villagers’ suicide letter may sound extreme, but it reflects real hopelessness. Their demand includes disciplinary action against officials whose neglect has led to this mess. The Mira-Bhayander and Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police commissioner, Niket Kaushik, has since shut down the Chinchoti traffic branch and handed control of the area to Vasai and Virar traffic units.