Pune/Mumbai, Feb. 5 -- A tanker accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Tuesday led to massive traffic congestion, forcing the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to cancel 139 bus services and leaving hundreds of commuters stranded at major bus terminals in both cities. According to the transport department, 73 e-Shivneri services and 66 other state transport bus trips were cancelled due to the prolonged gridlock following the accident. As many as 163 MSRTC buses were also stuck on the expressway for several hours. The affected buses included 46 from the Satara division, 36 from Solapur, 20 from Pune, 18 from Sangli, 13 from Kolhapur, 12 from Palghar, 11 from Thane and seven from the Mumbai division. According to the operators, there are nearly 2,500 passengers who were stuck in these buses. "There are at least 400-500 buses that are stuck on the Expressway. We have stopped bus operations until situation improves," said Harsh Kotak, member, Mumbai Bus Malak Chalak Sanghatana. The cancellations caused severe inconvenience to passengers, many of whom complained of a lack of timely information at bus depots. The MSRTC said passenger safety was its priority and that services would be restored in a phased manner once traffic on the expressway normalised, while commuters questioned the lack of coordination and communication. At Dadar bus station in Mumbai, passengers said they learnt about the cancellations only after long waits. "I had to return home after waiting nearly four hours. Important work had to be postponed," said a commuter bound for Satara....