Mumbai, Aug 20 (PTI) Heavy vehicles will be prohibited from plying on the Mumbai-Goa National Highway in run up and during the most days of the 10-day Ganesh festival beginning on August 27 for convenience of motorists, said a senior Maharashtra government official on Wednesday.
The nearly 500-km-long NH-66, which passes through the coastal Konkan region, sees a heavy rush of Lord Ganesh devotees during and immediately after the festival.
Joint secretary in the transport department Rajendra Holkar informed that vehicles weighing 16 tonnes or more will be banned from plying on the busy highway during the Ganesh festival in the interest of public convenience.
In an official statement, Holkar stated that the ban, which will not apply to vehicles carrying essential commodities, has been imposed under provisions of Section 155 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The restriction will apply to trucks, multi-axle vehicles, trailers, lorries and other heavy vehicles from midnight of August 23 to 11 pm on August 28.
Further curbs will be enforced on August 31 and September 2 from 8 am to 11 pm to facilitate the immersion of Ganesh idols of five and seven days, Gauri Ganpati idols, and the return journeys of devotees, said the statement.
For the immersion of 11-day idols on Anant Chaturdashi, the ban will be in place from 8 am on September 6 until 8 pm on September 7.
According to Holkar, during the intervening periods heavy vehicles will be permitted to ply on the highway.
These include from 11 pm of August 28 to 8 am of August 31, from 11 pm of August 31 to 8 am of September 2, and from 11 pm of September 2 to 8 am of September 6. Normal traffic movement for all vehicles will resume after 8 pm on September 7.
Holkar clarified restrictions will not apply to vehicles transporting import-export goods between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) in Navi Mumbai and Jaigad Port (Ratnagiri district) or those carrying essential commodities such as milk, petrol, diesel, LPG cylinders, medicines, liquid medical oxygen, food grains, vegetables and perishable items.
Vehicles engaged in road widening and repair works on the highway will also be exempted, he stated.
The bureaucrat maintained transport authorities and highway police will issue entry passes for vehicles engaged in exempted services.
Considering the flow of devotees to Konkan during the festival, police commissioner of Navi Mumbai and district superintendents of police in the coastal region have been empowered to relax the curbs on heavy vehicles as per the prevailing situation, said the statement.
Separate traffic arrangements will be made to ensure uninterrupted movement of cargo from JNPA and Jaigad Port, Holkar added.
Every year, a large number of devotees travel to their native places in Konkan to celebrate the Ganesh festival, Maharashtra's most popular religious event.
This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.
