Battling the evening rush hour in Ahmedabad’s suburbs requires a unique skill set that only Amdavadis have come to learn over the years. While the city enjoys the top spot in a vibrant Gujarat, the ‘posh’ areas, Prahaladnagar and Makarba, are becoming choc-a-bloc with traffic woes.

A mere 700m from the historical site of Sarkhej Roja, Bagula Char Rasta on the Corporate Road is one such hotspot.

“My office is near Kataria tower and I curse my office hours daily, as I meet with traffic daily on my way home after between 7 and 7.30 p.m.,” says Hely Panchal, working at an office in Makarba.

She is joined by many office-goers on the corporate road which has many IT and tech offices. 

Makarba Bagula Char Rasta

Blame is placed on the absence of traffic police at Bagula Char Rasta, allowing chaos to ensue. The proximity to the Makarba railway crossing further compounds the issue, causing hour-long gridlocks during train crossings.

Rajnish Gajjar, an employee of a media company says, “My shift ends at around 7.30 p.m. but I hang around the office for another 20 minutes or so at least. I also know which trains come in at what time so I work it all out before leaving for home.” 

“The railway crossing near the underpass near Kataria automobile road can be one of the reasons for the traffic jam,” says Hitesh Shukla, an LIC development officer who uses the road often.

The yet to be named underpass in Makarba is currently referred to as ‘LC26 underpass’ as per Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). 

As per AMC records, the LC-26 underpass reached 80% completion by August 2023, delays persisted, adding to the existing congestion.

The Makarba railway signal personnel present at the site  said that passenger trains cross at 5.30 p.m. and between 7 -7.30 p.m. The scheduled and unscheduled train crossings could be a major contributor to the bottleneck.

Vastrapur-Vejalpur-Makarba: the trio of traffic menace 

Traffic nightmare extends to Vastrapur railway station, where the railway crossing near Dr BR Ambedkar chowk faces similar issues. 

TRB (Traffic Regulatory Brigade) officials manage traffic, but shopkeepers still complain of heavy jams during peak hours. 

“There is a desperate need to depute a few more traffic personnels at these points especially during peak office hours,” says Karan Thakor who has a shop near Vastrapur station railway crossing.  

Vastrapur station road

On the other hand, even with the TRB officials present at Dr BR Ambedkar Chowk, the shopkeepers complain of heavy jams.

“Despite the TRB personnel assistance, the traffic on this chowk remains the same at peak hours. It is also the commuters and pedestrians who need to discipline themselves better,” Thakor added. 

“Between 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and between 6.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. the chowk becomes a nightmare with Vejalpur traffic and corporate traffic from Makarba."

Adding to this already hot traffic situation is the construction work of a three-lane overbridge near the Ahmedabad-Botad railway line.

Meanwhile, a road work project from Vastrapur railway station road to Prernatirth Derasar via Anand Nagar cross road creates a ‘one-way’ scenario, leading to some more chaos during evening hours.

Prernatirth Derasar Road

The upscale Prernatirth Derasar road is grappling with traffic congestion due to reinforced concrete cement (RCC) road work. This area is also witnessing cacophonic evenings for days.

The packed areas of Ahmedabad call for a proper system and air to breathe during peak hours.

TEST DRIVE:

We set out on the route covering a distance of 8 kms, covering major routes from Makarba to Corporate road to Prernatirth Derasar, which took over an hour to complete. Ideally this would have taken 20 minutes.

Courtesy: Google Maps

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