Mumbai: A car fire inside the southbound tunnel of the Mumbai Coastal Road on Thursday morning brought vehicular movement to a grinding halt, triggering long traffic snarls during peak rush hour. Both northbound and southbound lanes were closed temporarily as thick smoke filled the tunnel, forcing traffic police to divert vehicles to adjoining routes.

A video that surfaced online captured the exact moment when the white Maruti Suzuki Dzire, marked with a yellow strip suggesting it was a tourist cab, caught fire while moving inside the tunnel. The clip shows the engine area suddenly engulfed in flames, with smoke spreading across the enclosed stretch. Though the precise cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, no casualties or injuries have been reported so far.

According to Mumbai Traffic Police, the incident occurred near the Tardeo section of the Coastal Road around morning office hours. “Traffic movement is stopped at Coastal Road (Tardeo) southbound and northbound due to a car fire,” the department posted in its first update on X. As a safety measure, both carriageways were immediately blocked to prevent further risk to motorists.

Two fire engines were rushed to the spot and entered through the Breach Candy exit, which was later sealed off to other vehicles. Firefighters managed to control the blaze swiftly, ensuring it did not spread to nearby cars or cause structural damage to the tunnel.

The closure led to chaos for commuters, with long queues of vehicles stretching several kilometres. Motorists stuck on the road shared images and videos on social media, with one user writing, “Looks like some trouble in the Coastal Road tunnel. Vehicles turning back from the tunnel.” Another described the scene as a “massive accident” due to the complete shutdown.

By mid-morning, authorities confirmed that the fire had been doused and traffic flow restored. “Now traffic is clear,” Mumbai Traffic Police said in a follow-up update, noting that vehicles were moving through the tunnel, though at a slower pace due to residual congestion.

Mumbai, Sep 25: The Indian benchmark indices opened marginally lower on Thursday, as persistent volatility and mixed global cues continue to weigh on investor confidence.

As of 9.25 am, Sensex was down 91 points, or 0.11 per cent at 81,807 and Nifty was down 24 points, or 0.096 per cent at 25,081.

Amid concerns over FII outflows and US visa curbs, traders are looking for cues from the Q2 corporate earnings, pinning their hopes on a trade deal between the US and India.

The broadcap indices, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100, dipped by 0.04 per cent. Hindalco, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, ONGC, Tata Steel, and Tata Consumer were among major gainers on the Nifty pack, while losers included Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Titan Company, Maruti Suzuki and Hero MotoCorp.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT, the top loser, lost 0.23 per cent. Nifty Auto (down 0.21 per cent) and Nifty Private Bank (down 0.14 per cent) also weighed down on the indices. Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma made minor gains.

The Nifty index managed to hold above the 25,000 mark but closed negative for the fourth consecutive session.

Analysts said that the index upswings thereof failed to gain enough momentum to push beyond the 25,278-25,330 region, reflecting sustained selling pressure and cautious market sentiment.

On the upside, immediate resistance is placed at 25,100, followed by 25,250. On the downside, support lies at 25,000 and 24,900, they said.

The reforms being implemented in India, along with the low interest rate regime, have the potential to push economic growth and corporate earnings growth higher.

This should bring FIIs back to the Indian market, but the timeline is uncertain, the analysts added.

The US markets ended in the red zone overnight, as Nasdaq dipped 0.34 per cent, the S&P 500 dropped 0.28 per cent, and the Dow lost 0.37 per cent in the last trading session.

Most of the Asian markets were trading in the green during the morning session. While China’s Shanghai index edged up 0.19 per cent, and Shenzhen advanced 1.29 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei inched up 0.20 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.37 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.02 per cent.

On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 2,425 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 1,211 crore.

Hindu groups have announced gatherings in the city with banners saying ‘I love Mahadev’ to counter the ‘I love Muhammad’ campaign by Muslims.

Muslims have put up banners at mosques and on the streets in Mumbai in response to an incident in Kanpur where police registered cases against a group for displaying similar boards on a public road, saying that it hurt the religious sentiments of other religious communities.

The Bajrang Dal said that the banners have been put up with an ulterior motive to create unrest. Gautam Ravaria, Konkan province co-convenor of the Bajrang Dal, said that in Kashmir, policemen were chased by people carrying the banners. “We are not opposed to the banners. But we are suspicious of their motive,” said Ravaria, who added that their campaign will be replicated in other parts of the country. 

On Wednesday, Hindus were asked to join a meeting at Aarey Milk Colony, Unit 20, in the evening.The dispute over the banners has deepened, with Muslim groups saying that the police action against the banners was religious discrimination.

Raza Academy, a Mumbai-based group, wrote to the President, Draupadi Murmu, on Wednesday, stating that the police are acting on behalf of certain politically motivated instructions. “The role of the police is to maintain law and order, not to silence or target individuals based on their religious beliefs or expressions. These actions by law-enforcing agencies are creating fear, unrest, and a sense of alienation among the youths and the members of the Muslim community, undermining the democratic fabric of our nation,” the group said.

The police action is a violation of fundamental rights protected in the Constitution of India and more specifically of Article 19 (1)a, Article 21, and 25, the group said, appealing to the President to intervene and get the Uttar Pradesh police to withdraw all cases filed against individuals for writing, or displaying ‘ Love Muhammad’.

The group demanded that a high-level, impartial, and transparent investigation be conducted into these incidents, and strict action be taken against police officers who have acted in excess of their authority.