Ahmedabad’s Diwali market crowds led the city’s Central Zone estate department to launch an encroachment-removal drive in Bhadr after roadside vending and temporary stalls blocked movement through the busy shopping area, according to a report by Nav Gujarat Samay. The operation took place as residents began festival shopping during a weekend with two public holidays.
Bhadr, a market area used extensively by lower- and middle-income shoppers, saw heavier footfall and a larger number of vendors than on ordinary days. The increase in stalls and roadside activity narrowed access routes and, in some places, left movement corridors blocked, the report said.
The Central Zone estate department deployed six inspectors and sub-inspectors, four encroachment-removal vehicles and 25 labourers for the operation. The team worked with security provided by Karanj police and acted under a Supreme Court order, according to the report.
The enforcement action drew opposition from vendors, who protested against the removal drive. The report said Congress corporators Dr Naznin Wasim Thakor and Khadiwala arrived at the site with party workers after learning about the dispute and intervened. It also reported that some Congress corporators and political leaders attempted to obstruct the operation, although those claims were not independently confirmed in the supplied material.
Estate department officials told the vendors that the action was not intended to prevent them from conducting business. Their stated objection was to vending that blocked roads and restricted movement. Following the explanation, the vendors moved to the side, the report said.
To avoid a larger confrontation, the enforcement team did not seize vendors’ goods. Instead, workers removed ordinary items that were obstructing the road, according to the report. The account does not specify the number of vendors affected, the exact length of the affected road stretch or whether any fines were issued.
The congestion was not limited to Bhadr. Markets in several parts of Ahmedabad reportedly remained crowded from morning until late night, with residents buying different types of goods for Diwali. Roadside carts and ground-based stalls were also seen occupying roads and footpaths in these areas, narrowing carriageways and contributing to traffic jams.
The report said estate-department teams were not visible in those other market areas despite the congestion. That contrast places the immediate Bhadr operation within a wider municipal enforcement problem: festival demand increases the importance of informal markets, while unregulated occupation of roads and footpaths can reduce pedestrian access, vehicle movement and emergency passage.
The latest operation therefore combined two immediate administrative objectives—allowing festival commerce to continue and keeping public movement routes open. The supplied report does not state whether the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has announced a city-wide enforcement schedule or designated alternative vending areas for the remaining Diwali shopping period. Further municipal action in the other crowded markets will determine whether the response remains limited to Bhadr or expands across the city.
