Citing a shortage of helmets in the market, the Gujarat government has decided to seek more time from court to implement an order making it mandatory for two-wheeler riders to wear helmets.

"We have decided to request the (Gujarat) High Court for at least three more months to implement the decision," state Home and Transport Minister Amit Shah told reporters.

A helmet-buying spree has resulted in a shortage in the market, making it difficult to implement the order, said Shah.

Taking suo motu note of the rising incidents of road accidents in the state, the high court directed the state government to make the helmet obligatory for all two-wheeler riders and male pillion riders by Aug 1.

The state government had, however, sought more time for educating the people and making helmets available to all.

The rule has created a demand for more than 300,000 helmets here and even more in the rest of the state.

The state government's decision to buy more time comes two days after it enforced the high court order.

The compulsory-helmet rule was opposed vehemently across the state by the Congress party as well as many legislators from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Congress workers have been staging demonstrations in Vadodara since Friday. Protestors wore saucepans and metal dishes to show that helmets were not available in the market.

While the rule was in force for national highways and other highways in the state, it was enforced across the state from Thursday.