Thank you for all the inputs. Completed the Goa trip last week without any problems.
Left from Navi Mumbai at 5 AM on 13th Sept. Smooth drive and crossed the Pune bypass without much traffic. Road from Pune to Satara was bad - not just the diversions, but the road surface was broken in many places. After Satara, there were two accidents on the road which led to minor traffic jams - luckily these were cleared without much delay.Took a break at Sai and reached Belgaum by 12.30.
Most of the restaurants in Belgaum was closed- may be due to Ganesh Chaturti, found a small place one on the road towards Goa. There were other cars both going to Goa and returning stopping there since other places were closed. I spoke to a couple of people about the routes and they mentioned Anmod-Mollem route being the shortest to Colva(my destination). Thanks to SilverEyez for the warning above, I decided to stick to the Chorla route.
Had an amazing drive through Chorla. There are some rough patches but the road condition was really good. My family also enjoyed the drive through the forest. Even after entering Goa, google maps directed me through small interior roads towards my destination. Leaving Belgaum at 1.30 PM, reached Colva at 4.30.
For the return journey, left at 10.30 AM from Colva and while google maps was showing Ponda-Mollem route, I decided to stick to the Chorla route. Maybe being sunday, crossed Belgaum without any traffic. It was a smooth drive till 20kms before Pune. From then traffic was bad and continued on the Pune bypass as well. After entering the expressway, there was traffic still with many cars going towards Mumbai. Finally reached Navi Mumbai by 9.30 PM.
Many thanks to TAI members for the valuable advice and updates on the route.