Overview

• More than 500 students and other commuters were trapped for roughly 12 hours on Tuesday night near Vasai before buses reached home by around 6 am Wednesday.
• Traffic police later piloted school buses and deployed about 100 personnel overnight, though parents and drivers earlier reported unanswered emergency calls and scant on‑ground management.
• Officials and local reports linked the jam to heavy-vehicle diversions from Ghodbunder Road repairs plus a Thane‑bound lane closure near an Indian Oil pump, with parked trucks further choking the stretch.
• The congestion persisted into a fourth and then fifth day, delaying ambulances and long‑distance travelers and prompting over 20 Mumbai schools to push Vasai picnics to after Diwali.
• Local volunteers supplied water and food to stranded students, and MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s team coordinated assistance, while past fatalities tied to NH‑48 delays renewed calls for systemic fixes.