Nagpur: For thousands of Nagpurians working in metro cities, returning home for Diwali is an eagerly awaited tradition — a time to reunite with family, relive memories, and celebrate the festival of lights. However, this year, the journey home turned into a grueling experience for many travelling from Pune to Nagpur, as massive traffic jams and road blockages near Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar via Shikrapur and Ahilyanagar left commuters stranded for hours.

Many travellers who hit the road after failing to secure train tickets months in advance found themselves stuck for long hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The chaos was reportedly caused by ongoing road construction, lane closures, and a sudden surge in festive vehicular movement.

Nikhil and Darshi Chandnani, a couple from Nagpur working in Pune, shared their harrowing travel experience. “We usually reach Nagpur in about 12 hours, including short breaks. But this time, we got stuck in a heavy traffic jam near Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar for almost three hours. One lane was closed due to construction, and vehicles were diverted to a single lane. There were no police personnel or prior warnings, which made the situation worse. Despite the chaos, the excitement of celebrating Diwali with family kept us going,” they said.

For others, soaring fares and sold-out tickets added to the Diwali travel woes. IT professional Tisha Tiwari had to shell out nearly ₹6,000 for a bus ticket after train bookings were unavailable and flight fares skyrocketed. “I left Pune on Friday night and reached Nagpur only by Saturday evening. We were stranded near Ahilyanagar for several hours due to the festive rush, and a truck breakdown further delayed our journey. It took me over 18 hours to finally reach home,” she said.

Confirming the heavy congestion, Shubham Chaurasia, Director of Sanjay Travels, said the unexpected Diwali rush overwhelmed traffic on key highways. “A huge number of vehicles, including buses and private cars, began their journey from Pune to Nagpur without knowing about the road closures. Major bottlenecks near Ahilyanagar and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar caused massive delays. Many passengers were anxious, but our priority remained their safety,” he said.

With more commuters expected to travel during the festive week, authorities have been urged to deploy additional traffic personnel and issue real-time travel updates to prevent such gridlocks in the future.