The Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) has extended Ahmedabad Metro services until 2 a.m. from 14 to 19 October to support late-night commuters during the Navratri festival. Passengers travelling during these extended hours must purchase a special ₹50 paper ticket, valid for a single journey, available at all metro stations.

Extended Schedule and Corridor Details

Under normal operations, metro services run from 6:20 a.m. to 11 p.m. During the Navratri extension, trains on the Vastral Gam–Thaltej Gam and APMC–Koteshwar Road corridors will run at 30-minute intervals, while the APMC–Sector-1 corridor will operate at hourly intervals during the late-night period.

On the Vastral Gam–Thaltej Gam corridor, last trains depart from Vastral Gam at 2 a.m. and from Thaltej Gam at 2:12 a.m. On the APMC–Koteshwar Road corridor, final departures are at 2:14 a.m. from APMC and 2:07 a.m. from Koteshwar Road. The APMC–Sector-1 corridor's last departures are at 12:44 a.m. from APMC and 12:38 a.m. from Sector-1.

Traffic Management During Navratri

Ahmedabad Police reported that traffic congestion remained largely contained during the first three days of Navratri, though some bottlenecks were observed at night along SG Highway, Ring Road, and key junctions after garba programmes concluded. The city's control room is monitoring movement through 4,300 cameras — 3,300 installed under the Smart City Project and 1,000 under the Nirbhaya Project.

The police received three congestion-related calls on 11 October, nine on 12 October, and five on 13 October, with a response time of under 10 minutes in each case. By comparison, roughly 45 such calls were logged during the first three days of Navratri last year — a sharp decline the police attributed to better traffic regulation, road engineering measures, and public cooperation.

SHE Teams: Women's Safety on the Ground

For the festival, Ahmedabad Police deployed 49 SHE Team vehicles, 12 Abhayam helpline vehicles, 49 special garba vehicles, and 129 patrolling vehicles including Janrakshak Dial 112 units. During the first three days, four women who sought assistance were picked up from their requested locations and safely dropped home.

SHE teams conducted rounds at major garba venues and street garba events while also inspecting CCTV control rooms and deploying body-worn cameras. On 11 October, teams visited 67 major venues and 341 street events, using 57 body-worn cameras and making 54 CCTV control room visits. On 12 October, coverage expanded to 80 major venues and 357 street events with 73 cameras. On 13 October, teams covered 80 major venues and 326 street events, using 60 body-worn cameras and making 60 CCTV visits.

Children Reunited with Families

SHE teams reunited seven children — five boys and two girls — with their families after they became separated during the celebrations. On the first day, two girls were reunited with their father at GMDC Ground, while a child separated from parents at TransStadia Eka Club was also assisted. On the second day, teams helped a girl who had lost her way in the GIDC area and reunited another girl found alone at a party plot in Isanpur. On the third day, a boy found alone was handed to his maternal uncle by the Vejalpur SHE team, and a child at a party plot in the Sola area was reunited with family by the Women's Cell team.

With Navratri celebrations continuing through 19 October, both GMRC and Ahmedabad Police are expected to maintain these extended measures for the remainder of the festival.