Pune Landslide Buries Houses, Mumbai-Pune Highway Traffic Halted After Heavy Rain

The relentless monsoon has crippled Mumbai-Pune connectivity completely. Unseasonal rains have caused a spate of major landslides and flash floods that have brought the Mumbai-Pune Motorway and the old highway to a halt, stranding hundreds of commuters for hours.

The remote village of Patan in Maval taluka was the worst hit. A landslip caused by heavy rains early this morning sent mud and huge boulders crashing down a hillside. Sadly, a house was totally covered by the debris. A team of 30 members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rushed to the spot at dawn to clear the unstable terrain, as a family were feared trapped inside the debris.

 Key Transit Arteries Severed

Nearly every operational and alternative route between the two major metros have been cut off due to structural damage and flooding

The Motorway Hit: A landslip hit near the exit of Tunnel 2 on the newly opened 'Missing Link' portion of the Motorway. The debris fell on the lanes going to Mumbai, and the authorities closed the entire carriageway. To make it even worse, a concrete pillar fell across the road, creating another bottleneck.
Bumper-to-Bumper Diversions: Traffic has been diverted through Lonavala city since 4:00 AM, with the main motorway section blocked. That has led to massive, miles-long traffic snarls, with drivers reporting being completely stuck in a frozen gridlock for hours.

Old Highway Submerged: The old Mumbai-Pune National Highway too has been closed in both directions. The Patalganga River had overflowed and pushed deep floodwaters across the road near the Khalapur toll plaza, making the road completely impassable.

Alternate Routes Unsafe – Heavy rains have created severe, flood-like conditions across the wider Maval and Tamhini Ghat areas, washing out or blocking any reliable secondary or alternate routes between the cities.

Official Advisory: The Highway Traffic Police and district administrations have issued an urgent appeal to the public, asking everyone to completely suspend any travel planned between Mumbai and Pune until further notice.

Emergency crews are working to clear the slush and debris as conditions remain extremely dangerous with continuing gusty winds and torrential rain. If you are in the path now, stay in a safe place and follow official information carefully.