Not an Answer

By Kumar Manish/TNN, "Dargah stands in way of traffic" - The Times Of India - India
Sunday, November 23, 2008

Ahmedabad: Adjoining the monumental Dilli Darwaja in the walled city rests the Sufi Pir, Hazrat Sujjat Saiyad Baba in a hut shaped concrete dargah.

But in the city's rapid expansion and growing traffic volume on the stretch from Dilli Darwaja to Shahibaug, the age-old dargah now eats much of pedestrian space and comes as a hindrance in the smooth flow of traffic during busy traffic hours.

One of the local residents, Mushtaq Mohammad Sheikh, 45, says, "My forefathers have lived here under Pir Baba's benediction for long. We keep on hearing about his miraculous powers through our grandparents."

"Razing and shifting the dargah from its position is not an answer to growing traffic problem. Encroachers and street vendors should be managed well to ease the traffic situation here."

[Picture:Map of Ahmedabad, depicted in a miniature style painting on a cloth, circa 19th Century. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmedabad].