Minister's Convoy Drives On Wrong Side To Escape Traffic Jam: Road Users Outraged (Video)
The Indian government now has a strong focus on enforcing various traffic and lane rules. Instances of leaders and those in power breaking rules create massive outrage among people. The latest of such cases has surfaced from Maharashtra. The state’s forest minister and Palghar Guardian Minister, Ganesh Naik was seen driving on the wrong side, creating traffic congestion and causing inconvenience to the public. A video of this later went viral, creating massive outrage online.
The Video
It opens by showing the minister’s Lexus LX500d standing still with a convoy consisting of Mahindra Bolero, Scorpio Classic, Fortuner, Swift, Mercedes GLA, Carens, Baleno, Bolero NEO, and Innova. You can even see a Wagon-R cab in it. Look closely and you’ll realise that these vehicles are halted against the direction of the regular traffic flow. Some of them have their hazard lamps turned on.
This incident happened on the Ghodbunder Road in Thane. The minister was reportedly going to Palghar from Navi Mumbai for a DPC (District Planning Committee) meeting.
Trying to avoid traffic congestion, the convoy took a U-turn and started driving on the wrong lane. As can be seen in the video, the BJP minister’s convoy disrupted the traffic around, causing it to move even more slowly. Additionally, the minister himself can be seated inside the Lexus SUV.
Eyewitnesses and commuters captured videos and took pictures of the minister’s act of law-breaking. These later surfaced on various social media platforms and got the internet talking.
What Really Happened?
Officials explained that the minister’s convoy was stranded between Versova and Khanivda toll plazas. The minister had to reach the DPC meeting on time, and soon decided to take the Virar-Safale Ro-Ro boat service to bypass the jam. The congestion, however, continued for hours, troubling road users.
On the day of this incident, the Gaimukh area had a ‘mega block’ due to heavy vehicles being parked in the middle of the road. At the DPC meeting, the minister asked the district administration and police to devise permanent measures to resolve the traffic issues here.
MLA Sneha Dubey Pandit, at the meeting, demanded time restrictions to be imposed on heavy vehicles to ease the congestion. These will control their movement through the Palghar and Vasai talukas. MLA Rajendra Gavit called the traffic issues a lapse in duty of the highway police.
Internet Furious
The video created massive outrage online. Netizens sharply criticised the minister’s act. They pointed out how VVIPs and those in power continue to move effortlessly through crowded roads, even when common citizens remain stuck in traffic. The Forest Minister taking it to the wrong lane with his entire convoy, has enraged them. Many of these are now seeking if traffic and lane laws apply just to the common man (aam aadmi).
An eyewitness remarked, "two Indias on the same road - one for the powerful and one for the powerless". "Traffic rules apply only to the 'aam aadmi' (common people), not VVIPs,"- commented another. Someone even mentioned the official Twitter handle of the Thane Police Department, calling for strict action on the violation.
Recalling the long traffic jam, a commuter noted on social media “I nearly missed my flight even after leaving 6 hours before. There were ambulances stranded, common people in the sun guiding wrong way traffic in the heat, and suffering tax payers. Karma is going to get everyone responsible for this suffering.” Clearly, the public isn’t happy with the minister’s act.
Supreme Court's Recent Reaction Towards Road Violations
Interestingly, this violation by a sitting minister comes soon after the honourable Supreme Court ordered authorities to crack down on three major road safety violations- helmet non-compliance, wrong-lane driving and use of use of LED headlights that tend to blind oncoming vehicles. These strictures come in the backdrop of riding road accident deaths in recent past.