Samarth Mahangade, a first-year B.Com student at a college affiliated with Shivaji University in Kolhapur, turned to paragliding to beat a massive traffic jam and make it to his examination centre on time.
On the day of his exam, Mahangade was in Panchgani, unaware of the looming traffic chaos on the Wai-Panchgani road. With only 15-20 minutes left before the exam started, he realised that reaching his centre, 15 km away, was impossible by road due to a jammed section of the Pasarani Ghat.
Panicking, Mahangade turned to Govind Yewale, an adventure sports expert from GP Adventures in Panchgani, who suggested paragliding. Within minutes, Yewale and his team arranged for Mahangade to glide over the traffic and land near his college.
Under the guidance of experienced instructors, Mahangade soared through the skies from the Harrison Folly Point and landed safely, just in time to sit for his paper. The viral video shows Mahangade gliding through the sky, college bag in tow, as he makes a dramatic entry to his exam. However, this innovative approach to reaching the destination has once again highlighted the issue of traffic congestion along the tourist spots in Maharashtra, particularly on weekends.
