MUMBAI, Feb. 17 -- After a gas tanker leak brought traffic on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway to a standstill for over 24 hours in the first week of February, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has set up a high-level committee to review the incident and recommend corrective measures. The tanker leak in the Ghat section triggered massive congestion on both sides of the expressway, leaving thousands of motorists stranded without adequate access to food, water, or medical aid. The prolonged disruption drew sharp criticism over highway safety standards and traffic management. The seven-member panel will be chaired by former Public Works Department secretary CP Joshi, who also served as president of the Indian Road Congress. Other members include former joint commissioner of police (Traffic) and former inspector general of police (state excise) S Mohite; former transport department joint commissioners Jitendra Patil and S Deshpande; safety and technical-legal expert Milind Kulkarni; and Piyush Tiwari, president of Save Life Foundation. MSRDC's Pune division superintendent engineer Rahul Vasaikar will serve as member secretary. The committee will inspect the accident site and undertake a comprehensive review of traffic flow management and accident trends along the expressway. It will examine the reasons behind the prolonged traffic jam, identify operational lapses, and suggest both immediate and long-term measures to prevent a recurrence. The panel is expected to submit its report within 60 days, following which MSRDC will implement necessary safety and emergency response upgrades. An MSRDC official said the severity of the situation was initially underestimated. "We thought the tanker could be emptied within a few hours. However, it was kind of a live bomb and required four additional tankers to safely transfer the gas. The process took much longer than expected. Entry to the expressway was not immediately restricted, which worsened the problem. This was the first incident of its kind, and the committee will examine the situation and will recommend measures which will help MSRDC to tackle the problem in future." As per the expressway control room, a tanker carrying Propylene gas, which is highly inflammable, overturned on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway at around 5 pm on February 3, near the Adoshi tunnel in Raigad. The tanker, allegedly travelling at high speed, lost control due to the slope and overturned. A multi-agency operation involving personnel from the highway police, the National Disaster Response Force, the Central Industrial Security Force, the fire brigade, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, and local volunteers was launched to handle the situation. Traffic resumed around 2 am on February 5....