NAVI MUMBAI, Sept. 13 -- A nine-kilometre tailback at Palaspe left thousands of devotees from the Mumbai region returning to their ancestral Konkan villages for Ganeshotsav stranded for hours as the annual festive exodus overwhelmed the routes through Panvel and Raigad. The jam, which affected commuters from Friday evening into Saturday is likely to continue on Sunday. The impact was felt along the Sion-Panvel and JNPT corridors, Kharpada, Palaspe, Indapur and Mangaon, with slow movement also reported near Khopoli on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The worst disruption was at Palaspe Phata, just outside Panvel, where the Mumbai-Pune corridor, JNPT routes and Mumbai-Goa Highway (NH-66) converge before traffic heads towards Konkan. The trouble began around 9 pm on Friday, when heavy container vehicles from JNPT were stopped under festival restrictions and held in three lanes on and around the Palaspe bridge, leaving limited road space just as the passenger rush intensified. The initial queue, which was about 3 km, subsequently grew to five to 7 km and touched eight to 9 km after heavy vehicles became stranded at Palaspe Phata. Motorists exiting the Atal Setu at Chirle also ran into the obstruction. Starting on Friday midnight, there were continuous lines of vehicles across Kharpada and the Sion-Panvel-JNPT corridor into the early hours of Saturday. "We were told the restrictions on heavy vehicles would ensure smooth passage for Ganeshotsav travellers. Instead, the police halted the containers right along the main carriageway, blocking three full lanes. It took us over two hours just to crawl past the Palaspe flyover," said Pratap Sawant, a Kankavli-bound motorist. Girish Renose of Mumbai, travelling to Kankavli with his elderly parents, said his family spent about three-and-a-half hours covering barely two kilometres between the expressway interchange and Palaspe. "We were told the heavy vehicle ban would give families a clear passage to Konkan. Instead, the authorities allowed trailers to park right on the flyover," he said. Further south, incomplete highway works at Indapur and Mangaon restricted capacity. At Indapur, the unfinished bypass forced traffic through a narrow market section, while at Mangaon the delayed bypass similarly pushed highway traffic through the town. The problem was compounded by some trucks and chemical tankers continuing to ply on the highway despite the festival restrictions on heavy vehicles. The disruption came despite advance preparations by the Navi Mumbai police, including identification of hotspots and accident-prone stretches, pothole repairs and road works, diversion planning and emergency towing. "We have taken care to provide maximum facilities to people travelling to Konkan and ensure that they do not face congestion. The government has also taken a good decision to waive toll charges," said DCP (Traffic) Rahul Khade. He also urged motorists to use Atal Setu and Uran Phata instead of routes through Panvel and Kalamboli. Raigad guardian minister Bharat Gogawale said that 5,200 ST buses had been booked, apart from trains, private buses and personal vehicles. "When such a massive volume of traffic moves along a single route, there can be some minor disruptions. However, the kind of severe difficulties faced in previous years are not present this time," he claimed....