Indian family open their doors to commuters stuck in traffic chaos

An Indian Australian family in Melbourne came to the help of stranded commuters on Thursday evening who were stuck in a chaotic jam right outside their house.

Pankaj Fuloria and daughter Enakshi

Pankaj Fuloria and daughter Enakshi Source: Supplied

The traffic scene turned chaotic during peak hours in Melbourne this week. Bumper-to-bumper traffic was seen on the Princes freeway as all outbound lanes of the freeway remained closed. Thankfully in Altona Meadows, one local Indian Australian family came to the rescue.

The family provided the commuters with an option to use their toilet and offered them water and gave chips to young children as they struggled with bumper to bumper traffic following a horrific accident on Princes freeway.

"It was around evening, when my daughter Enakshi received a call from her friend who was stuck with her mother in the traffic, when returning from school. She asked if she could stop by to use the toilet," Pankaj Fuloria tells SBS Hindi.

It was then Mr. Fuloria thought of opening up his house, located on the main road in Altona Meadows to the commuters who were diverted from Princes freeway.
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"We made a small placard and placed it outside our house. Several people stopped by to use the toilet. We also offered them water and chips to those with young children," says Mr Fuloria.

As it started turning dark, the father-daughter duo stood outside, holding the placard for almost 2.5 hours so as to make it visible for those passing by.

"It makes us happy that we could be helpful," says Mr. Fuloria.

A on the Princes freeway near Palmers road in Melbourne's West on Thursday afternoon around 2.30pm, resulted into death of a man and severely injuring his co-passenger.

One car was crushed between a truck and a roadworks barrier, while closer to Palmers Road another had been slammed into the same concrete wall by a 4WD.

Seven vehicles and 14 people were involved in the incident.

A 28-year-old Hoppers Crossing man died at the scene. His passenger, a 31-year-old Hoppers Crossing woman, was taken to hospital and is in a serious, but stable, condition.

The freeway was closed for hours as police and emergency services attended to the scene of this horrific accident. 

The freeway was reopened about midnight.

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3 min read
Published 17 March 2017 1:14pm
Updated 17 March 2017 3:25pm
By Mosiqi Acharya


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