Chaos at crossings: Roadways buses, taxis big menace at Trimurti Circle

JAIPUR: An ambulance with its sirens wailing struggles to find its way ahead in the serpentine queues of vehicles at Trimurti Circle.
Seconds ago, the ambulance had a close shave with one Haryana roadways bus that tried to overtake it. This is a daily ordeal for many drivers who negotiate speeding roadways buses and taxis at Trimurti Circle where chaos are recurring feature.

The situation is aggravated due to haphazard parking, taxis and cabs that refuse to stop at their designated spots. "There is a parking stand for autos and mini-taxis. But they stop anywhere on road to take passengers," said Mayank Parashar, a resident of Hatroi who comes here at a diagnostic centre regularly.

Crossing the street here is akin to participating in a lethal Russian roulette game, the chances of getting hit by a speeding bus is equal to a bullet whizzing out of the spinning revolver.

"I recall an incident where a youngster was crossing the road when a speeding mini bus hit him. He lay on road, profusely bleeding. We rushed him to the hospital while he was still breathing. I don't know If he survived or not," said Nand Keshwar, a local shopkeeper.

It requires a patience and courage of a different kind to drive on this road. The traffic gridlocks are frequent and vehicles usually move bumper to bumper.

"The small vehicles often get sandwiched between two big buses which could be very dangerous as the person driving the small car doesn't have the option to take a left or right turn. We have often asked bus drivers to move in one line and not to overtake each other, but they rush in full speed to get as much passengers possible before their rival," said a traffic constable.

There are buses from Agra and New Delhi that boards and disembarks passengers at this Narayan Singh circle. "There are many private buses too which rush to the stop to take maximum passengers. Similarly, there are auto drivers and four-wheeler taxis which follow the buses to lure passengers who disembark from buses. This rat race is costing lives of many others," said an official.

The police claimed they have strengthened the enforcement in the area after many people were reportedly sustained injuries in the accident. But, even the cops find it difficult to make bus drivers to obey traffic rules.