Ahmedabad-Bhavnagar: Highway stretch closure order reversed in a day
In a notification dated April 13, Ahmedabad additional district magistrate Sudhir Patel had announced the closure of the route and diversion of vehicles for up to eight months due to the construction of the Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway project.
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The U-turn came in the aftermath of Gohil criticising the sudden closure of the route that passed through the Dholera Special Investment Region. (Express Photo) The Gujarat government Friday reversed its decision to close about 70-80 kilometres of a busy stretch of a highway connecting Bhavnagar and Ahmedabad for traffic after Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil questioned and criticised the unprecedented move.
In a notification dated April 13, Ahmedabad additional district magistrate Sudhir Patel had announced the closure of the route and diversion of vehicles for up to eight months due to the construction of the Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway project. However, in another notification a day later, he cancelled his own order.
“We had issued the order based on the recommendation of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Today, NHAI said the order was not needed and so, we have revoked it,” said Ahmedabad Collector Praveena DK. NHAI is the implementing agency of the Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway.
The U-turn came in the aftermath of Gohil criticising the sudden closure of the route that passed through the Dholera Special Investment Region. The MP had asked if the closure was mentioned in the tender for the project and if the traffic diversion was being done to facilitate the contractor at the expense of commuters.
Criticising the order to close down the large stretch of the highway, Gohil pointed out that so far, such a huge traffic diversion was never undertaken in the state.
“Has this been done to favour the contractor? Was the provision mentioned in the tender for the project?” Gohil asked, seeking immediate withdrawal of the notification for closure of the route.
He said the move would not only impact small and big restaurateurs on the route, but also commuters who will have to shell out more for the detour.
According to the revoked order, traffic from Bhavnagar to Ahmedabad was diverted through Vallabhipur-Barwala-Dhandhuka-Bagodara route, while the traffic to Vadodara was diverted via three routes—Vallibhipur-Barwala- Dhandhuka-Federa-Pipali; Dhandhuka-Dholera-Bhadiyad-Pipali; and Dhandhuka-Federa-Pipali-Vataman. The order is effective from April 14 to December 12, 2023.
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