Thousands of vehicle driving test applicants across Gujarat were left stranded on Thursday due to server downtime in 38 Regional Transport Offices (RTOs), including Ahmedabad. The technical issue, which affected the National Informatics Centre (NIC) servers, is expected to continue into Friday, with no tests being conducted at Ahmedabad’s RTOs on Friday either. The transport department is expected to announce on Friday whether tests will resume on Saturday.
All Friday appointments have been rescheduled as a result of the ongoing server issues. Applicants arriving for their tests on Thursday morning were turned away without prior notice, with transport department officials citing server downtime. After a public holiday on Wednesday, many applicants had taken time off work or adjusted their schedules for Thursday, only to find their appointments canceled. Over 500 appointments were scrapped in Ahmedabad’s three RTO offices alone, while the disruption impacted over 4,000 applicants statewide.
Senior transport department officials explained that the NIC servers went down due to an unspecified fault, with Delhi based NIC allegedly shutting down the servers without issuing any prior warning. Several RTOs across the state reportedly did not follow instructions to reschedule Thursday’s canceled appointments, meaning applicants may now have to pay agents Rs 100 for new appointments. However, if rescheduling instructions for both Thursday and Friday appointments are implemented, applicants could avoid the extra cost.
The situation has caused widespread frustration, with applicants demanding better communication and faster resolutions to prevent further delays.