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Originally Posted by megazoid I passed through Bhaglpur twice during my sikkim trip and took the following route. https://goo.gl/maps/FKzu7
Was in touch with Sheel as the worry of getting stuck on the sethu was playing on my mind. The sethu was a breeze and though bhagalpur town was congested, it was not too bad. What really got me tired was the dumka - bhagalpur stretch which was in extremely bad shape and takes a lot of time and energy to cross. |
Hi meagazoid , we seem to have passed each other ! , I am back from Sikkim as well but drove on the traditional NH 34 from Moregram to Siliguri on both legs.
Route updates:
Do not use NH 7 , the route is closed due to a broken bridge near Rajipur/Palar , further the stretch from Muratipur to Moregram is completely in shambles , with absolutely no surface at all. The road is being widened and the entire surface has been taken off!
I started from Kolkata on 31st Dec at 4:30 am and reached Siliguri at 8:30 pm. Route driven was VIP Road , Belghoria Expressway , Nivedita Setu , NH2 , NH7 , huge detour through rural Bengal near Rajipur/Palar via Kamapara Sahebganj Road and back onto NH7 at Muratipur , Moregram , Farakka, Kaliachak , Malda , Raiganj , Dalkhola , NH 31.
Total 590 Kms , with Rs 302 worth of tolls. Kalichak took 15 mins and Dalkhola about 25 mins to cross , by tailing local cars in the opposite lane
. From Moregram close to Farakka is 4 lane tarmac and then parts between Malda and Raiganj. Remaining road condition is same old NH 34 with all its pot holed and dusty glory.
I returned back on 5th via the same route till Moregram. Then via Nalhati , Rampurhat , Sainthia , Ahmadpur , Bolpur , Ilambazar , Panagarh , NH2. Started at 4 am and reached home at 6:30 pm , totaling a route length of 650 kms worth Rs 320 of tolls. Out of the 14:30 hrs . total movement time was 12 hrs ,averaging about 54 Kmph. Just breezed through Dalkhola at 50 Kmph no stoppage whatsoever! I had already crossed Farakka by 9:30 am and Kaliachak was also completely devoid of any congestion. However I did try a slip route to bypass Kaliachak , details of which are given below , but this is not recommended. The Bolpur to Panagarh section is an absolute dream now except for the last 5 kms near Panagarh. I have never driven the Fatehpur to Bolpur section earlier and would not recommend it. Sainthia with its very narrow and congested roads is stressful and almost the entire route till Bolpur is in very bad shape. In hindsight I should have taken the Fatehpur to Suri route instead.
I had been in touch with Sheel and was toying with the idea of taking the Bhagalpur route , but dropped the idea due to the bad condition of the standard Bhagalpur to Dumka route. Thank you Sheel as always for your help and support, missed meeting your Explorer by a whisker. Sheel had warned of a chassis breaker sinkhole just as the four lane stretch ends before Islampur (on the way back from Siliguri) , and boy it was life saver in the pitch darkness !
Wanted to try the alternate Kulti , Deoghar , Banka , Bhagalpur route suggested by Thumping_soul but dropped it at the last minute as the route length would have been more than 700 Kms and I was not confident about the condition of the Deoghar to Kulti section.
Now for the surprise , I had driven to Kaluk in Sikkim and one evening I was amazed to see a white Eon with TBHP stickers parked next to my Duster. A quick inquiry at the reception and I was introduced to gearhead_mait having dinner with his family !
Thanks gearhead_mait for your tip on the Bolpur to Panagarh stretch , the freshly laid asphalt was fantastic. Do check on that grease leakage.
I explored a slip road to bypass Kaliachak , however I will not recommend it since it is at best a narrow lane and if there is oncoming traffic with four wheels , you would be royally struck. The road just goes straight through the intersection with the main road near Kaliachak High School (see the red highlighted portion) , though Google Maps shows a slight detour.