At a time when the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court declared the verdict of the Ayodhya case, the walled city area of Ahmedabad wore a deserted look in a self-imposed curfew later part of the day. Areas like Relief Road, Gandhi Road and Dariapur, which bore the brunt of riots in 2002, saw shops remaining closed for major part of the day except mornings, even as people eagerly awaited the verdict.
As per the verdict, the 2.7 acre disputed land in Ayodhya is to be divided into three parts and to be distributed among the Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.
While schools and colleges were open in the morning, they chose to close down for the latter part of the day. Moreover, the educational institutions saw minimal attendance today.
Traffic on major roads like Ashram Road and CG Road began to decline post-noon. However, western parts of Ahmedabad like Satellite and Vastrapur continued with their routine activities.
Apparently, government offices and courts also remained closed on Thursday due to the demise of Gujarat Legislative Assembly Speaker, Ashok Bhatt late Wednesday night. Security in the city was also beefed up as a precautionary measure, with constant patrolling.
Meanwhile, making his discontent over the verdict clear, Mufti Shabbir Alam Ahmed of Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad said, "We are not satisfied with the verdict. We thought the verdict will be such that the dispute will be over. However, we believe dividing the land into three parts will not solve the dispute."
Congress party leaders and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) spokespersons were unavailable for comment.