It's Diwali vacation and Surat wears a deserted look

SURAT: For those who have stayed back during the Diwali vacation, it's time to enjoy the ride on the open roads, without facing traffic snarls.
With almost half of the city residents away enjoying the Diwali vacation at various tourist destinations, it's fun for many to drive on the city roads.
TOI took the stock of the situation at some of the highly congested stretches in the city:
The Sardar Bridge connecting Adajan and Athwalines, which remains chock-a-block during peak hours on any given day, was smooth.The traffic flow was quite normal, with many cars able to overtake each other, which is not possible otherwise.
The Rajmarg from Chowk Bazaar to railway station, which was teeming with tens of thousands of vehicles and pedestrians until last week, was almost deserted, with few movements of vehicles on the road.
Almost half of the shops on both the sides of the roads were shut for the Diwali vacation.
The Ring Road area, which house country's largest textile wholesale markets, too was deserted. It is difficult to travel on the Ring Road throughout the day. As the textile markets are closed for Diwali vacation, the commuters can drive their vehicle at top speed, without facing any traffic jams.
Some of the city areas like Athwalines, Adajan, Ring Road, Chowk Bazaar, railway station, Udhna, etc., that remain jam-packed during the peak hours have started wearing deserted look with few commuters seen on the roads.
The overcrowded trains and buses revealed that thousands of people left the city for their native homes for the Diwali festival. Apart from the regular rush, the buses transported at least 10,000 passengers per day in the last couple of days on account of the festival.
With Diwali, New Year and Bhai Dooj falling on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, respectively, the city residents have got an entire week to celebrate with their family and friends.
The scene in the city is likely to remain the same for another week. The traffic cops have heaved a sigh of relief as traffic issues in the most congested will not be there during the vacation period.