This Navratri, with most commercial garba venues situated along the 200 feet SP Ring Road, and mostly between Shilaj Circle and Vaishnodevi Circle, it has become a nightmare for garba enthusiasts and commuters alike. People are stuck for hours in traffic, and it often takes 45 minutes to an hour to travel a mere 2 km stretch during the night.
Heavy vehicle restrictions overlooked Interestingly, while Ahmedabad Police have issued a notification prohibiting heavy vehicles from entering the city, including SG Highway, from 8 am till 2 am, no such action mas been taken by either the SP Rural police or the Ahmedabad Collector’s office. As a result, the impact is felt further on SP Ring Road’s Rajpath and SBR (Sindhu Bhavan Road) Junction, which remain heavily congested from evening till night due to the movement of heavy vehicles combined with the surge in garba traffic.
Garba enthusiasts voice frustration
Mukesh Singh, a working professional, said, “Considering it was a weekend, I thought of taking my family to a garba venue in the Ognaj area. While we were on the way, we were stuck for more than 1.5 hours between Rajpath junction and Science City junction on SP Ring Road.”
He added, “We were so tired and frustrated with the traffic jam situation that we returned midway, thinking it would take a lot more time to reach the venue, and the same would have happened on the way back.”
Echoing his frustration, Pradumyan Nambiar said, “We now avoid taking SP Ring Road at night it’s easier to take a longer route than being stuck for hours in traffic.”
He also questioned why the authorities failed to plan in advance, knowing that the traffic flow would inevitably increase.
“Since most garba venues are on this stretch, they could have stopped heavy vehicle movement for a specific time at night, knowing the situation would worsen during Navratri,” added Nambiar.
Authorities respond
Ahmedabad District (Rural) SP, Om Prakash Jat, told that they have deployed 50 traffic personnel at the Rajpath Club intersection on SP Ring Road and near Bopal intersection.
“Since no TRB jawans are on leave in our jurisdiction, we have ample staff to regulate traffic. But the issues caused by heavy vehicles continue because Ahmedabad Rural police don’t have the power to issue any notification, like the city police,” said Jat. A highly placed official in the Ahmedabad Collectorate said, “We usually act upon suggestions from the SP’s (Rural) office after reviewing them. However, as of October 7, we haven’t received any suggestions, so how can we issue any notification related to the issue?”