THANE, August 5, 2013: Devotees from Mumbai and Thane heading to their hometown in Konkan region during the Ganesh festival should be spared from payment of toll by the Maharashtra government, urged Shiv Sena MLA from Thane, RajanVichare.

The Sena leader said lakhs of people from the metro towns necessarily visit to their hometowns in Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts during the 10-day Ganesh festival scheduled from September 9.The heavy rush of people on the Mumbai-Goa highway creates a traffic jam and leads to inordinate delays and hardships for the devotees, especially those using the public transport services.

Moreover, the poor condition of the highway adds to the woes of devotes who end up spending hours waiting for the long and winding queues of vehicles to clear the roads. To help reduce the traffic chaos on the Mumbai-Goa highway, Vihare has proposed that motorists should take the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Those from Raigad can drive up to the Khalapur toll post, ahead of Khopoli and then drive down towards Wakan in Nagothane.

Locals who have to reach their homes in Ratnagiri district can use the Express highway up to Umraj toll post near Satara and then drive down to exit at Chiplun, from where they can take the National Highway-17 to reach their destinations.

The advisory for natives of Sindhudurg district is to drive on the Mumbai-Pune Express highway and then proceed up till Kolhapur and turn to the Gaganbavda ghat section which will bring them near Kankavli.

However, most motorists heading to Konkan avoid using the Expressway as it not only means driving a long distance but also paying a huge amount in toll. It pinches the pocket as you pay more for fuel as also for toll. However, if the toll fee is condoned, it would be worth doing a detour to reach our native town in Konkan,'' said Babu Shelar from Kalwa.

Vihare has made a representation to the state government urging them to treat the Ganesh devotes on par with the warkari's who trek on foot for weeks to reach Pandharpur, the home of Lord Vithoba and Rukhmini. Just as the vehicles of Warkari's are spared of the toll fee, the same should be made applicable for the Konkan residents going home during the Ganesh festival, the Sena MLA said.

Source: The Times of India, DT. August 5, 2013.