[ST7677]

After doing multiple trips across South India covering Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram, Mangalore, Goa, Mumbai, Aurangabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, etc I am getting an opportunity to go far east. There is a function I need to attend around mid June’11 in Jamshedpur, and convinced my wife that a drive will be more fun than the usual boring plane ride (to Kolkata). It is expected to be a 30 hr drive split over 2-3 days, one way and then back.

I was planning to drive down on NH 5 (GQ) till Baleshwar / Kharagpur and then take deviation towards Tatanagar.
1. Baleshwar – Krishnachandrapur – Baharagora – Ghatshila (NH 33) – Jamshedpur (210km)
2. Baleshwar – Kharagpur (NH6) – Baharagora – Ghatshila (NH33) – Jamshedpur (290km)

Which of these routes is better for safety and road condition? Or is there any better alternate?

While the length of the route does not worry me, after reading some posts on net and on Team-bhp, I am very concerned about safety aspects. I hear that these deviations towards Tatanagar are Maoist belts and unsafe roads. Am I correct to assume that there are no such problem on GQ as such!

Safety is my top concern as I will be travelling with my wife and 2 daughters. The car is Honda Civic, and I am told that it may attract extra attention from evil elements :(
Please advise.

[julupani]

If you want to stick to the NH system you have no option but to take the NH33 from Baharagora to Jamshedpur. This 90km stretch is pretty much the only bad road that you will encounter the whole distance, other than a few sections of the NH5 between Berhampur and Balugaon.

Thus though yo can reach the junction of NH6 and NH33 by going via Kharagpur, there is completely no point in it. The NH5 between Kharagpur and Jamsola Checkpost is in superb condition, except for the Baripada bypass. Dont even think about the other route.

Only thing is as you will be in a Civic, make sure you do the NH33 in day time. There are some very nasty potholes on this road. Also night time is when a large number of Tata trucks start departing the factory to go all over the west and south of this country. Not to mention the stretch is the only one where you will need to worry about the Maoists. So NH33 is best avoided after 6pm.

But to do this you will have to split your drive into 3days, with breaks in Rajahmundry and Bhubaneswar.

The other option to reach Jamshedpur is to go via Rairangpur. This stretch though a State Highway is actually in much better shape than the NH33. Though here too the Maoist threat is there.

But let me end by saying, Maoism in this area is nowhere near as bad as south Orissa. So if you want to do the trip in 2days rather than 3 days, I would recommend going via Rairangpur (SH50 of Orissa I think) instead of Ghatsila (NH33). You will avoid night ti,e traffic of NH33 not to mention the potholes.

[ST7677]

Thanks, so are you recommending that
1. I should take left after Baleshwar and go north towards Tatanagar via NH5, instead of continuing on GQ till Kharagpur

2. Take SH50 instead of NH33, as SH50 road is in better condition.

I do not intend doing this stretch at night at all.
Both SH50 / NH33 have maoist presence. But if you know which one is considered safer?

[julupani]

I cant really say that any of them is safer, but neither is considered that unsafe nowadays. You can be worried about the Maoist effect on both roads only post 9pm, not before that. Before that both roads are safe to take.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by julupani

The other option to reach Jamshedpur is to go via Rairangpur. This stretch though a State Highway is actually in much better shape than the NH33. Though here too the Maoist threat is there.
But let me end by saying, Maoism in this area is nowhere near as bad as south Orissa. So if you want to do the trip in 2days rather than 3 days, I would recommend going via Rairangpur (SH50 of Orissa I think) instead of Ghatsila (NH33). You will avoid night ti,e traffic of NH33 not to mention the potholes.

I also think that it will be more convenient if one takes the Balasore-Baripada-Bangriposi-Bisoi-Rairangpur-Jamshedpur route. The distance will probably be less than 165 KM and the road is good. I guess that only the last 60KM or so will be the state highway but IMHO there should not be any significant threat, specially during the day.
Regards,
Rahul Biswas
Calcutta

[julupani]

@Rahul
I dont think there will be much difference in distance, going via Ghatsila or via Rairangpur. Also I think the state highway section will be closer to 90-100kms rather than 60kms. Though theoretically the state highway is will be about 60kms, as it no longer remains SH50 after you cross into Jharkhand at a small non-descript border post at Tiringi. I am not sure whether the road enjoys the status of state highway in Jharkhand.

[ST7677]

From Ghiajodi (where NH5 meets NH6) both ways (via Ghatshila and via Rairangpur) are same, about 125 km to Tatanagar...

[ST7677]

Thanks,
I have decided to do this over 2.5 days

Bangalore – Rajahmundari – 815 km (Via Chitoor) / 875km (via GQ) – 13 hours drive by both routes
Rajahmundari – Bhubhaneshwar – 630km – 9.5 hrs drive
Bhubhaneshwar – Tatanagar - 414 km - 6 hrs drive

Return would be
Tatanagar – Vizag – 863km - 13 hrs drive
Vizag – Tirupati – 812km - 12hrs drive
Tirupati - Bangalore – 252km - 5hrs drive

Does this look ok?

[julupani]

I think the Rajahmundry to Bhubaneswar may take you a few hours more than that, because its not all 4lane. Some sections in Orissa are still 2lane and are very slow. Also AP-Orissa border is not exactly very smooth and you have to have a bit of luck to get through a pair of railway crossings in the 2lane section which can sometimes get pretty hairy with massive jams. If you are lucky it can be about 10hours, but if you are unlucy it can get dragged by 2-3hours.

As for the Bhubaneswar to Tata Nagar will be closer to 7hours, the first 300kms will be smooth sailing and can be covered in 5hours. The last 100kms can take about 1.5 to 2hours.

Similarly Tatanagar to Vizag will be about 15hours by my reckoning, 7hours till Bhubaneswar and another 8hours to Vizag. Again assuming you are lucky here, as some bad luck in the 2lane section and at the border can take this upto 17-18hours.

Thus I would suggest breaking the journey at Vizianagaram, or may be even earlier at Berhampur. And instead do a little bit more of the distance on day 3, something closer to 350-400kms rather than 250kms.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by ST7677

Thanks,
I have decided to do this over 2.5 days

Bangalore – Rajahmundari – 815 km (Via Chitoor) / 875km (via GQ) – 13 hours drive by both routes
Rajahmundari – Bhubhaneshwar – 630km – 9.5 hrs drive
Bhubhaneshwar – Tatanagar - 414 km - 6 hrs drive

Return would be
Tatanagar – Vizag – 863km - 13 hrs drive
Vizag – Tirupati – 812km - 12hrs drive
Tirupati - Bangalore – 252km - 5hrs drive

Does this look ok?

Reaching Rajahmundry on Day 1 will be a long day, possible only with very early morning start and a no-break type of drive.

Expect traffic jams in OR-WB border after Jaleswar.
It is virtually impossible to do Bhubaneswar-Tatanagr in 6 hours, budget for almost a full day.

[julupani]

I dont think Bhubaneswar to Tata needs a full day at all. Half a day is enough. Traffic is never too bad. It is not likely to take more than 7hours. I have taken bus rides which have had a travel time of only 7hours.

@hvsir

As he will be going to Tatanagar, he wont be using the Orissa-WB border on the NH60 after Jaleswar at all.

If you go via Rairangpur, the border post is that at Tiring, where I doubt you will even be checked, as it is not a major border post at all.

If you go via Ghatsila, you use the Jharkhand-Orissa-West Bengal integrated checkpost at Jamsola. This is one of the best border checkposts that I have seen in all my travels. Massive areas for truckers to park their vehicles and get the necessary permits. The main highway is left alone completely leaving no chance for a traffic jam of any sort at all. This also happens to be a favourite of truckers to spend the night. A few hundred trucks can be seen here every night.

[julupani]

Just attaching a satellite pic taken from Google Maps of the Jamsola Integrated Checkpost. Now this is how a border checkpost should be like.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by julupani

I dont think Bhubaneswar to Tata needs a full day at all. Half a day is enough. Traffic is never too bad. It is not likely to take more than 7hours. I have taken bus rides which have had a travel time of only 7hours.

@hvsir

As he will be going to Tatanagar, he wont be using the Orissa-WB border on the NH60 after Jaleswar at all.

If you go via Rairangpur, the border post is that at Tiring, where I doubt you will even be checked, as it is not a major border post at all.

If you go via Ghatsila, you use the Jharkhand-Orissa-West Bengal integrated checkpost at Jamsola. This is one of the best border checkposts that I have seen in all my travels. Massive areas for truckers to park their vehicles and get the necessary permits. The main highway is left alone completely leaving no chance for a traffic jam of any sort at all. This also happens to be a favourite of truckers to spend the night. A few hundred trucks can be seen here every night.

Absolutely, I agree with you, I went off tangent - he does not have to go to Jaleswar at all!!!!

Very impressed with the Jamsola check post, used to be terrible once upon a time. I remember having gone into small village roads to escape the jam there.

[ST7677]

Originally Posted by julupani

I think the Rajahmundry to Bhubaneswar may take you a few hours more than that, because its not all 4lane. Some sections in Orissa are still 2lane and are very slow. Also AP-Orissa border is not exactly very smooth and you have to have a bit of luck to get through a pair of railway crossings in the 2lane section which can sometimes get pretty hairy with massive jams. If you are lucky it can be about 10hours, but if you are unlucy it can get dragged by 2-3hours.

Does this post help?

Don't worry - the road conditions are quite ok now. I made 2 hyd-cal trips - my 1st one in april,09 and the next one in october,10. And there was a significant improvement in between the two trips. First of all the incomplete 2-laned stretches are quite short now. Earlier we had 2 long stretches both near the north and south OR border, totalling to about 100 km almost.

But the south side border is almost complete now. Even during my oct. 10 trip the longest incomplete stretch on the south side was hardly 4-5 km. The greatest relief is that the earlier off-roading track at the AP-OR border in Ichapuram is now a 4-laned smooth black road. Though you have to face the kilometers long truck jam, but it is still managable. Just be alert near the border - because most of the time one lane gets totally blocked with the trucks and private cars are allowed to move through the other lane (which is essentially the wrong lane). Best policy is to spot one of the local passenger cabs (the tata aces) and start following it.

As for the Bhubaneswar to Tata Nagar will be closer to 7hours, the first 300kms will be smooth sailing and can be covered in 5hours. The last 100kms can take about 1.5 to 2hours.

So finally on last leg to Jamshedpur, is Rairangpur route preferred or is Ghatshila route preferred (both safety and road wise)? Distance wise it's same both ways...

[julupani]

I know there are no long 2 lane stretches, but the problem areas are still the railway crossings, and the AP-OR border post both of which still cause massive jams.

Thus my suggestion on both Tata-Vizag section still stand. I am not saying its not possilbe to do it in a single day, but my point is it is a bit risky. One in 5 days there is a jam in that section, thus as you are already having a very light schedule on the last day, why take the risk.

As for the Bhubaneswar to Tata section, I would take the Rairangpur route, but many people like to stick to the NHs.