A five-kilometre SG Highway traffic jam left shoppers travelling through western Ahmedabad stuck in long vehicle queues on Wednesday night, as Diwali shopping sharply increased traffic around Palladium Mall, ISKCON and Sindhu Bhavan Road, according to Divya Bhaskar.
The congestion was reported between Palladium Mall and ISKCON, with cars forming an estimated five-kilometre line along the highway. The report said the scale of the queue was visible in drone footage, showing traffic occupying a substantial stretch of the corridor.
SG Highway regularly experiences congestion during peak hours, but the Wednesday night disruption was linked to the combination of normal evening traffic and a large number of people travelling towards commercial and shopping areas for Diwali purchases. The affected locations included the ISKCON and Ambli Road areas, as well as Sindhu Bhavan Road.
The traffic buildup comes days before the Diwali festival, when shopping-related travel typically increases on routes serving malls, retail areas and commercial districts. Divya Bhaskar reported that similar congestion could continue to appear on the highway until Diwali as more residents use private vehicles to reach these destinations.
The incident also brings attention to the pressure placed on SG Highway during periods of concentrated travel. The corridor connects several busy parts of western Ahmedabad and carries regular peak-hour traffic. When shopping trips add a large volume of vehicles to the route, queues can extend across multiple junctions and access points, affecting through traffic as well as people travelling to nearby commercial areas.
A six-lane bridge between Sarkhej and ISKCON is scheduled to be inaugurated on November 9, according to the report. The bridge is expected to form part of the corridor’s transport infrastructure, but the report did not provide details on its capacity, operating arrangements or how traffic will be managed after the inauguration.
The reported jam was therefore both a short-term festival traffic disruption and a visible sign of the demand placed on the western Ahmedabad road network. For commuters, shoppers and residents using the corridor, the immediate impact was longer travel time and slow-moving traffic between Palladium Mall and ISKCON.
The next scheduled infrastructure milestone is the inauguration of the Sarkhej-ISKCON six-lane bridge on November 9. Until then, the report indicates that motorists using SG Highway and adjoining shopping corridors may continue to encounter heavy evening congestion during the Diwali shopping period.
