India, Nov. 9 -- Kalyan Phata, a seemingly impossible challenge for motorists to navigate, has acquired a nickname. The daily crawl at this junction, which connects Thane, Navi Mumbai and the Kalyan-Dombivali belt, has inspired reel-makers to cheekily dub it their own 'Strait of Hormuz', drawing a parallel with the blockade of the strategic West Asian waterway amid the US-Iran conflict.

"Challenges at work don't scare me as much as crossing this stretch does," says Rahul Kumar, who spends between two to four hours in his car daily, driving from his home on the Katai-Badlapur Road, to Airoli, 21 km away. Much of this time is spent stalled in traffic that has backed up, he says.

Kalyan Phata has been a traffic nightmare in the making for ...