Malshej ghat shut for vehicles over mudslide

The tempo collapsed at a depth of 25 to 30 feet

Malshej ghat, which is a vital link to Mumbai, Thane and other areas of Maharashtra, has been closed for vehicular movement due to a mudslide, which was caused by a rock that fell around 2 am on Tuesday due to the rain.

The landslide, blended with fog and the resultant low visibility, led to a tempo accident earlier on Tuesday. The driver, identified as Amol Dafale, was injured in the incident and rushed to nearby Mauli accident and multi-speciality hospital for treatment.

Assistant police inspector Suresh Bansode said, "Shahdev Rama Dafale and his son Amol where heading from Kalyan to Ahmednagar in tempo. Fortunately, both of them survived the accident. However, their tempo collapsed at a depth of 25 to 30 feet"

Hanumant Jagtap, the Tahsildar of Murbad Nayab said, "We have closed down to the road to avoid any chaos. The truck driver was seriously injured due to the landslide. He was rushed to the hospital for treatment."

PWD teams and highway police officials were at the spot to remove the rock that had fallen on the road. Speaking to mid-day, Dinesh Mahajan, executive engineer, PWD said, "Our teams had reached the spot, but the work to clear the rock that had fallen on the road could not be completed as there was continuous rainfall and fog." Mahajan said the work will be started by Wednesday only if the weather is clear.

Meanwhile, long queues have formed on either side of the ghat and traffic officials are doing their best to divert traffic via alternative routes. But the closing of both lanes of the ghat route has resulted into heavy traffic congestion in the area.

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