Gujarat ministers drop pilot cars, CM cuts convoy after PM Modi appeal

Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel and his council of ministers have decided to limit the number of vehicles in their official convoys, drop pilot escorts

Published on: May 13, 2026, 21:56:36 IST

By Maulik Pathak, Ahmedabad

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Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel and his council of ministers have decided to limit the number of vehicles in their official convoys, drop pilot escorts, and allow bureaucrats to attend official meetings virtually, amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to reduce fuel consumption in the wake of the West Asia conflict.

Gujarat ministers reduce convoy size, avoid pilot vehicles (Shutterstock)

Cabinet minister Rushikesh Patel, announcing the decisions on Wednesday, said the chief minister had restricted his official convoy to just two vehicles, a decision he implemented during his visit to Rajula in Amreli district to inaugurate a trauma centre.

“The chief minister has decided that his official convoy will have no more than two vehicles. Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi has also cancelled his scheduled visit to the United States (US) with the aim of minimising air travel,” he said.

Sanghavi was scheduled to attend the second Gujarati Convention organised by the Federation of Gujarati Associations of the USA later this month.

Patel said the entire council of ministers has collectively endorsed the directive. “All ministers will follow the chief minister’s lead on convoy size. They have decided not to use a pilot vehicle. Instead, they will use online maps to navigate to their destinations directly, without any vehicles leading or trailing behind,” he said.

Labour and employment minister Kunvarji Bavaliya said the state government would discuss the possibility of adopting a work-from-home model for private companies wherever possible.

Governor Acharya Devvrat on Tuesday announced he would not use helicopters or air travel for trips within the state and would reduce the number of vehicles in his convoy until the situation in West Asia normalises. He directed vice-chancellors of all universities in Gujarat to observe a combustion engine-free day at least once a week and appealed to the administration to use electric vehicles and bicycles where possible.

PM Modi has appealed to citizens to curb foreign travel, reduce fuel consumption, defer gold purchases and revive work-from-home practices in view of the continuing crisis in West Asia, saying these measures would reduce India’s fuel consumption and help save foreign exchange.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

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