‘Infra Man has become Disaster Man’: Opposition attacks CM Fadnavis after ‘Missing Link’ closure

4 min readJul 6, 2026 01:23 PM IST

Restoration work underway after debris and boulders partially cover a portion of the Pune to Mumbai carriageway of the Khopoli-Kusgaon ‘Missing Link’ near the exit of Tunnel 2 following landslide amid heavy monsoon rains in Pune. (PTI Photo)

The landslide that shut the Mumbai-Pune Expressway’s Missing Link on Monday, barely two months after the Rs 6,695-crore project was inaugurated, triggered a political slugfest, with the Opposition questioning the government’s preparedness and the quality of construction.

Responding to the incident, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the road was closed immediately after the landslide and that the administration was on alert. “The road was closed immediately. We are in alert mode. Not many people are trapped. Those trapped on the expressway will be brought out soon,” he said.

The criticism comes days after photographs purportedly showing potholes on the Missing Link went viral on social media. At the time, Fadnavis had defended the project, explaining the engineering techniques involved and asserting that the first monsoon serves as a test of a road’s durability and other technical aspects. Monday’s landslide, however, gave the Opposition fresh ammunition to target the government.

Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal posted on X: “With the very first rain, the ‘Infra Man’ has become a ‘Disaster Man’! Will the Chief Minister, who called potholes a ‘first rain test’, now call the closure of the multi-crore Mumbai-Pune Expressway Missing Link project due to a landslide a ‘monsoon trial’? Tunnels are built by carving through mountains all over the world, but in Maharashtra, projects collapse in the very first rain. The problem is not the rain, but inferior quality of work, corruption, and the political patronage provided to contractors. Thousands of crores spent on projects… but with the first rain, the ‘development’ itself is ‘missing’.”

Congress leader Satej Patil said the government had failed to plan despite advance weather warnings. “We have witnessed the credit war over the Missing Link. They should take credit for this current situation as well. There was an orange alert for rain. They should have informed people earlier, but there was no planning visible. Traffic jams and accidents are being seen on the expressway. This is a failure of governance. Ministers are saying the situation will worsen and there will be heavy rainfall. They should have communicated to prevent inconvenience. This is an insensitive government. The route from Pune to Mumbai is closed. The government needs to monitor the situation through a control room. What are the measures being taken? How many deaths have occurred, and when will the Mumbai-Pune highway reopen? They must answer these questions.”

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Vijay Wadettiwar also attacked the government. “Whether it is the Missing Link or landslides elsewhere, this is a ‘percentage’ government. Because of this culture of taking commissions, nothing will be accomplished by this government. Everything is being done by sheer force rather than proper planning.”

Rohini Khadse, state women’s president of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), said, “This is not a ‘Missing Link’ road, but a ‘Development Missing’ link road. The Mumbai-Pune Expressway’s Missing Link project was celebrated with great hype. Just two months ago, the inauguration ceremony was held with much pomp. But with the very first rain, potholes appeared on this road. When people questioned it, they were told ‘a trial was underway’. Today, a landslide has directly shut down traffic. In reality, the Mahayuti government’s development is only visible in advertisements. In practice, the ‘development’ is missing. If projects built with taxpayers’ money cannot withstand the weather, it is not development, but a betrayal of the people’s trust.”