Mumbai-Pune Expressway clogged over 24 hrs

Pune : The country’s oldest and first access-controlled Mumbai-Pune Expressway came to a grinding halt after a chemical tanker turned turtle on Tuesday evening – with thousands of vehicles stuck in traffic jams for over 24 hours – and the effects spilling over to the Old Highway No. 48 soon afterwards. The vehicular snarl - described by locals as the worst-ever in the 26-year-old history of the critical thoroughfare linking the country’s commercial and cultural capitals – took the...

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Mumbai-Pune Expressway clogged over 24 hrs

Pune : The country’s oldest and first access-controlled Mumbai-Pune Expressway came to a grinding halt after a chemical tanker turned turtle on Tuesday evening – with thousands of vehicles stuck in traffic jams for over 24 hours – and the effects spilling over to the Old Highway No. 48 soon afterwards. The vehicular snarl - described by locals as the worst-ever in the 26-year-old history of the critical thoroughfare linking the country’s commercial and cultural capitals – took the travellers and the authorities by complete surprise leading to delayed response measures. According to officials, the speeding tanker, carrying a highly inflammable and hazardous Propylene Gas, skidded and overturned in the tricky ghat sections near Ardoshi Tunnel yesterday evening around 5 pm, and blocked the Pune-Mumbai arm completely. Police teams rushed to the accident spot, cordoned off the accident site, blocked the Pune-Mumbai 3-lanes and attempted to salvage the tanker. Later, as a precautionary measure even the vehicles plying on Mumbai-Pune arm was closed and it started the ‘grandmother of all traffic jams’, stranding thousands of regular commuters, tourists, and special cases. As the traffic didn’t budge for hours, angry motorists spewed their ire on social media drawing the attention of the Highway Police, and other local police departments from Raigad and Pune, plus teams of the SDRF and NDRF were deployed to avert any untoward incidents. On Wednesday, local television reports showed clips of the traffic tie-ups that extended more than 45-50 kms kms in both directions, many travellers had spilled onto the roads, enraged and exhausted due to the heat, many frantically searching for elusive food and water making it harrowing for the kids or the elderly people. Commuters’ travails on expressway Among the thousands trapped in the logjam of vehicles were a cancer patient from Latur who had to rush for medical treatment to Mumbai, many people rushing to catch international or domestic flights from either Mumbai or Pune. There was at least one wedding party with the groom stuck in Mumbai and the bride stranded in Pune, plus many businessmen, tourists in luxury private buses, ST buses, senior citizens and kids in private cars or cabs and large commercial goods vehicles. The curvy ghat section was the worst-hit where scores of vehicles had stopped and were parked awkwardly, leaving little space for manoeuvres and eyewitnesses said that many people were forced to relieve themselves on the roadside or in the bushes. Several of the hungry and tired passengers, who spent the night sleeping in their vehicle seats, rued how their mobile batteries had died down, making it impossible to connect with anxious family members, and complained of total lack of information updates from the highway or police authorities. As per latest reports by 7 pm, the police estimated that the overturned tanker would be shifted out before midnight after which normal plying of vehicles was expected.

India bears the brunt: Nifty crashes 1,100, Sensex nosedives 3,900 points after US trade shock

Correspondent
Apr 7, 2025
2 min read

India woke up to a financial jolt this morning as its equity markets suffered their steepest fall in nearly a year, shaken by the ripple effects of US President Donald Trump’s aggressive new tariff regime. The Sensex plunged over 3,900 points at opening bell, while the Nifty tumbled more than 1,100 points, dragging Indian stocks to a 10-month low.

This sharp decline follows a global equity rout triggered by Trump's protectionist measures, which have sent panic waves across Asia and raised the spectre of a global recession. Investors dumped shares in a massive sell-off, with Indian benchmarks reacting sharply in early trade. The Sensex dropped to 71,425.01 — down 3,939.68 points — while Nifty slipped to 21,743.65, marking a 3.5% slide from the last session.

Adding to the pressure, the Indian rupee depreciated 30 paise to open at 85.74 against the US dollar.

India Among the Hardest Hit

Trump’s latest tariff hike — framed as a push to restore fairness to global trade — has imposed country-specific duties that go as high as 50%. India has been slapped with a 26% tariff, while a 10% baseline duty applies to all nations. This has set alarm bells ringing among Indian exporters and traders already struggling with global demand volatility.

President Trump, unfazed by the financial carnage, likened the move to a bitter but necessary cure. “Sometimes you need the medicine to fix something,” he told reporters earlier today.

Analysts Urge Economic Safeguards

Market experts believe that India's current market turmoil isn't rooted in domestic issues but is rather a consequence of being tightly woven into global investment flows.

“India will face the heat, not due to domestic reasons, but as an interlinked chain in the global portfolio flows,” said Ajay Bagga, a noted market expert. “India will need a fiscal, monetary, and reform package to protect the domestic economy from this global economic winter that is threatening to settle in.”

Sunil Gurjar, SEBI-registered research analyst, warned that the Nifty50 index has breached its first support level and is approaching the next. "A further breakdown could worsen the trend and accelerate the fall," he cautioned.

Asian Markets Bleed

The tremors from Trump's announcement were first felt in Asia, with key markets suffering steep losses. China's stock markets fell over 4% amid retaliatory tariffs of 34% against the US. Hong Kong's Hang Seng nosedived more than 10%, while Japan’s Nikkei index fell 6.5% after plunging 8% earlier in the day. Taiwan saw a near-10% collapse, and Singapore dropped over 8%.

Wall Street Braces for Impact

US markets, though yet to open, appear set for a rough start. Futures contracts on the New York Stock Exchange are sharply down, suggesting heavy losses once trading resumes.

Market sentiment globally has turned bearish, with fears of a looming recession taking hold. Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management described the scene as “free-fall mode,” noting, “Trump’s team isn’t blinking. The tariffs are being treated as a victory lap, not a bargaining chip.”