India, Oct. 27 -- With Diwali vacations ending, thousands of people who had travelled to their hometowns and villages began returning to Pune on Sunday, leading to heavy vehicular congestion on all major highways connecting the city. The Pune-Mumbai expressway (e-way) in particular, witnessed bumper-to-bumper traffic through the day as vehicles crawled at a snail's pace along stretches between Lonavala, Talegaon and Dehu Road.

According to the state highways' department, the return rush started from early morning and intensified by afternoon, with several families, information technology (IT) professionals, and students heading back to the city to resume work and college from Monday. Similar congestion was reported on the old Pune-Mumbai...