Pune/Mumbai, Feb. 6 -- Traffic movement on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway returned to near normal on Thursday morning, nearly 32 hours after a tanker carrying highly inflammable propylene gas overturned near the Adoshi tunnel in the Khandala ghat section, triggering a prolonged shutdown of the busy corridor. Traffic on the Pune-Mumbai carriageway resumed around 2 am on Thursday after authorities completed the gas transfer and removal of the overturned tanker. While movement was initially slow due to a truck breakdown near Malavli and congestion caused by stationary heavy vehicles near Kamshet, highway police officers said traffic stabilised by morning following heavy police bandobast and active regulation at key choke points. Officials said the volume of vehicles on the expressway was lower than usual, with many commuters choosing to defer travel or alter their plans in the wake of widespread criticism over the long traffic blockade and the inconvenience it caused motorists. "Traffic has gained normalcy, but the number of vehicles is less than on a regular day as several people postponed their journeys," said a senior highway traffic police officer. The accident occurred around 5.06 pm on Tuesday, when a tanker transporting propylene gas from Cochin to Surat lost control on a downward slope and overturned near Adoshi village. Given the high risk of ignition, authorities immediately suspended vehicular movement and cordoned off the affected stretch, leading to massive queues and commuters being stranded for hours. Traffic towards Pune was backed up till the Khalapur toll naka, while the Mumbai-bound carriageway witnessed congestion stretching nearly 15 to 16 kilometres, leaving hundreds of motorists stranded for hours. The congestion was cleared in phases, officials said. "From Khandala to Vadgaon Maval in Pune district, several motorists remained stranded overnight on both the expressway and the old Mumbai-Pune highway, with many forced to spend the night at the spot," said a highway traffic police officer. 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. "To safely manage the situation, two tankers were initially deployed to decant the gas from the overturned vehicle. The residual gas was then transferred into a third tanker, after which the operation was completed," said Tanaji Chikhale, Superintendent of Police, Highway Traffic. "Public safety was our top priority. Every step-from stopping traffic to gas transfer and tanker removal-was carried out with utmost caution and coordination," Chikhale added. The prolonged disruption severely impacted public transport, with several public and private bus services between Pune and Mumbai cancelled, leaving passengers stranded at terminals and along the highway. The ghat section was reopened in phases across three stretches, with congestion on the Lonavala-Pune stretch easing by Thursday afternoon. Officials said no further blockages were reported once the expressway was fully reopened. However, the cascading effect of the large-scale congestion continued 48 hours after the incident, with motorists heading towards Navi Mumbai and Mumbai continuing to be logjammed along a 10-km stretch from Bhatan Tunnel to Palaspe Phata. "This traffic from Palaspe Phata was that of heavy vehicles," said Anilkumar Gaikwad, vice-chairman and managing director of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation. "This was Jawaharlal Nehru Port-bound traffic." With a long queue of port-bound vehicles and those headed to western parts of India, the line-up to exit the expressway slowed traffic to a snail's pace, officials said. Meanwhile, the political machinery of Maharashtra, including chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, sought the completion of the 13.3-km Mumbai-Pune Missing Link project at the earliest. The project has been shaping up since March 2019, and there have been multiple deadline revisions in the last couple of years, with the latest one set for this March....