Jaipur: A year after the state govt relocated the bus stand from Narayan Singh Circle on Tonk Road to decongest the busy intersection, traffic relief remains elusive. Instead of easing flow, the vacated space has gradually been taken over by e-rickshaws, recreating the very congestion the move sought to eliminate.What was envisioned as a cleaner, streamlined junction now resembles a reassembled transit point. The Transport Nagar-bound corner has informally turned into an e-rickshaw stand, with vehicles queuing openly and waiting to fill passengers before moving.When Team TOI visited the spot on Wednesday, e-rickshaws were lined up in rows, each waiting until five passengers boarded тАФ a pattern mirroring the earlier bus stand chaos. The clustering continues to slow traffic at one of the cityтАЩs key crossings.Former DCP (traffic) Sumeet Meharada said the issue had cropped up earlier during his tenure. тАЬE-rickshaw associations had proposed formalising this corner as a designated stand, but the proposal was not accepted,тАЭ he said.Despite the rejection, the stand appears to have come up informally. Current DCP (traffic) Yogesh Goyal said he was unaware of such an arrangement. тАЬI am going to inquire how this stand sprung up. If these are causing traffic congestion, we are going to remove this stand,тАЭ he said.The bus stand was shifted on April 1 last year to Transport Nagar, with alternative boarding points created on Delhi Road and near Jawahar Nagar (Rotary) Circle. However, commuter habits remain unchanged. Passengers continue boarding buses at the intersection, while autorickshaws, app-based bikes and now e-rickshaws use the stretch as an informal halt.For daily commuters, the change appears cosmetic. тАЬPolice seem more focused on clearing Tonk Road, pushing congestion towards Govind Marg,тАЭ said Amit Bishnoi, a regular at the Tonk Road crossing.
