Ahmedabad’s Diwali travel rush has led to heavy crowds at Kalupur railway station and the Geeta Mandir State Transport bus stand, with passengers leaving for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Saurashtra to celebrate the festivals with their families.
Divya Bhaskar reported that a queue of around 150 people was seen at Kalupur railway station to buy tickets. The Geeta Mandir bus stand also saw passengers waiting for buses as demand rose ahead of Diwali and Chhath Puja.
The rush included people working or studying in Ahmedabad who were travelling to their native places during the holiday period. The report said that schools and colleges had closed for vacation, while employees and business owners had also begun travelling around Dhanteras.
Passengers whose trains were scheduled at night reportedly reached the railway station several hours early. According to the report, some of these passengers were not allowed to enter the station at that time and had to wait inside the station compound. The report also noted that scanner machines were seen not operating during the rush.
At the Geeta Mandir ST bus stand, passengers were reported to be waiting in the designated waiting room and in areas below the terminal while they awaited buses. The crowd reflected the seasonal movement of Ahmedabad’s migrant and regional workforce, along with residents from different parts of Gujarat travelling for the festival period.
The reported congestion places additional pressure on the city’s two major intercity passenger hubs, where railway and bus operations must handle concentrated demand over a short holiday window. The report did not provide details of additional services, crowd-control arrangements or revised entry procedures announced by the railway or state transport authorities.
The immediate travel arrangements at Kalupur railway station and Geeta Mandir ST bus stand remain the key operational issue as passengers continue departing for their hometowns during the festival period.
