Traffic on the busy stretch came to a near standstill reportedly as large crowds gathered for IIT Bombay’s annual cultural festival, mood-indigo, officials said on Tuesday
Traffic on the busy JVLR stretch at a near standstill. Pic/Screengrab of video (shared by @ChandivaliCCWA)
Commuters travelling on the Jogeshwari–Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) in Mumbai on Tuesday evening faced severe traffic congestion near Powai, with many reporting delays of several hours.
Traffic on the busy stretch came to a near standstill reportedly as large crowds gathered for IIT Bombay’s annual cultural festival, mood-indigo.
Traffic officials said the spillover of students and visitors attending the event led to heavy congestion in and around Powai.
According to officials, the traffic jam began in the evening and continued for several hours before easing late at night.
"Heavy congestion occurred along the JVLR due to a large influx of students attending the Mood Indigo festival at IIT Bombay. The Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) is experiencing significant delays due to poor crowd management," Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association (CCWA) posted along with a video of traffic snarls on X.
Heavy congestion occurred along the JVLR due to a large influx of students attending the Mood Indigo festival at IIT Bombay.
— Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association (CCWA) (@ChandivaliCCWA) December 16, 2025
The Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) is experiencing significant delays due to poor crowd management pic.twitter.com/uD4x7MNmVL
Traffic Police steps in
“We already have traffic police on site and now things have begun to normalise,” a traffic control official said, adding that additional personnel were deployed to manage the situation.
The Mumbai Traffic Police also confirmed on social media that traffic movement was slow due to a college event at IIT Bombay’s main gate near Sakinaka.
कॉलेज विद्यार्थ्यांच्या कार्यक्रमामुळे पवई आयआय टी मेनगेट ( साकीनाका ) येथे जाणारी वाहतूक संथ गतीने सुरू आहे.
— Mumbai Traffic Police (@MTPHereToHelp) December 16, 2025
Traffic Movement Is Slow At Powai IIT MainGate (Sakinaka) Due To Collage student event
#MTPTrafficUpdate
Commuters report matter on X
Several commuters expressed their frustration over the long delays. A Powai resident said it took him over an hour to travel from Rambaug Chowki to IIT Bombay on a two-wheeler, a journey that usually takes much less time.
"It took me 1.25 hrs to travel from Rambaug Chowki to IIT Bombay, on a two wheeler. The traffic was also bad on Khairane road and Chandivali farm Road," a Powai resident told mid-day on Tuesday night.
Some of the commuters also took to social media to highlight the chaos. One user posted that a journey to Thane, which normally takes around 30 minutes, was showing a travel time of nearly three hours, and sought help from Mumbai Traffic Police.
@CMOMaharashtra, @CPMumbaiPolice, @mybmc : You want more buildings approved in Powai. We are choking with full time commercial traffic and congestion in #hiranandani powai. Today its taken 2 hours to move 2-3 kms from #Khanjurmarg to #Powai on #JVLR. @RanaDaggubati. pic.twitter.com/i6HY3SJLAi
— Hanuman Tripathi (@ThinkerTrips) December 16, 2025
Officials said the traffic situation gradually improved later in the night as crowds dispersed and festival-related movement reduced. Commuters have been advised to avoid the Powai-JVLR stretch during large events at IIT Bombay in the future.
Today the chaos at Powai was unimaginable. Horrendous traffic management and crazy jam.
— Ramalingam S (@watsubram) December 16, 2025
And mind you , I come from Bangalore
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