Ahmedabad’s parking crisis has intensified during the Diwali shopping rush, with traders in Maninagar, Kalupur and Relief Road demanding that the civic authorities provide workable parking arrangements or immediately stop vehicle-towing operations. Traders say vehicles are being towed without adequate alternatives, discouraging customers from visiting the city’s major markets.
According to a report by Sandesh, heavy crowds have gathered in the city’s principal commercial areas for festival shopping, but the absence of reliable parking has created growing congestion and conflict. Traders allege that enforcement teams are towing vehicles indiscriminately in areas where shoppers have few practical options for parking.
The dispute highlights a basic gap in the management of high-footfall commercial districts: enforcement is taking place without, traders say, a corresponding improvement in access. Businesses claim that customers are hesitant to bring their vehicles to the markets because of the fear that they may be seized, resulting in a fall in footfall during one of the most important shopping periods of the year.
The traders have also criticised the multilevel parking facilities created by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. They claim that these facilities are not serving their intended purpose because customers face difficulty reaching the main markets after leaving their vehicles there. The report says there is no adequate connection or convenient access arrangement between the multilevel parking sites and the commercial streets.
As a result, shoppers are reportedly choosing to leave vehicles on the roads, where they remain vulnerable to towing. Traders argue that this creates a cycle in which the city provides parking capacity that customers find difficult to use, while simultaneously removing vehicles parked in the surrounding streets. They have described the current approach as one-sided because it prioritises towing without first ensuring that viable alternatives are available.
The issue is particularly significant for Ahmedabad’s traditional markets, where commercial activity depends on a large volume of short-duration visits. Customers typically need to reach busy streets, shops and market lanes directly, and the distance or inconvenience involved in accessing a multilevel facility can influence whether they choose to visit. The trader objections therefore extend beyond parking management to the relationship between municipal enforcement and the functioning of local commerce.
Traders have reiterated that towing should be halted immediately unless proper parking arrangements are established. They say markets are becoming quieter because customers are avoiding them, and have called on the authorities to change the policy before the festival shopping period is further affected.
The report does not provide figures for the number of vehicles towed, the capacity or utilisation of the multilevel parking facilities, or any formal response from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. The next step remains the authorities’ response to the traders’ demand for alternative parking and a review of towing operations in the affected commercial areas.
