Fact Check: Are 3% Divorces In Mumbai Due To Traffic Jams?

Mumbai: BJP leader Amruta Fadnavis’ claim that 3% of divorce cases in Mumbai are because of traffic jams in the city has evoked widespread criticism and ridicule.

“Forget that I am Fadnavis’ wife. I am speaking as a common citizen. I step out of the house every day like a normal woman. I too have to face traffic and potholes on the roads. Due to traffic, 3% of the cases lead to divorce because people are unable to give time to their families,” she remarked.

As the video went viral, the wife of Maharashtra’s former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was trolled by social media users and also faced flak from Opposition leaders.

Describing Amruta’s as ‘illogical’, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi advised her to take a ‘holiday break rather than having a mind on brake’.

Amruta then took to Twitter to try and justify her statement. She wrote that it has been found in a survey that Mumbaikar suffers from psychological and physiological illness due to huge traffic jams and delay in the movement of traffic.

“There is also fall in employee productivity and increase in divorce rates,” Amruta wrote in a tweet marked to Priyanka Chaturvedi.

Amruta, however, could not provide any data or figures to back up her claim.

Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar didn’t take Amruta’s claim well.

“Amruta Fadnavis is the wife of our former chief minister. Her allegation is astonishing that traffic leads to divorce. There can be many reasons for divorce but I have heard this for the first time,” the Mayor said.

“I have read about some instances when a spouse landed up early and caught the other half in flagrante and decided to divorce…. but I suppose you could blame that on good or scanty traffic, not traffic jams,” read one of the numerous tweets in response to Amruta’s comment.

Another user wrote: “Please plan your visit to the entire nation.”

Several memes also surfaced, ridiculing her remark.