[Samratrek]

Originally Posted by Samratrek

Ventured out yesterday from my present lockdown based home in Dunlop ,Kolkata & tried to check out the road till Moregram where it connects to NH34.
I left Kolkata at around 9.30 am & reached Moregram around 2 pm.
I followed google maps & thus used SH7 entirely to reach Moregram.
Congestion at Bardhaman has reduced considerably due to the new bridge & a couple of flyovers ,its much ease to drive.
The entire SH7 was in excellent condition ,just around 5/6 kms were having slight shallow craters ,but the entire 122 km from Bbardhaman to Moregram was in perfect state,there are a series of speed breakers in the first 40 kms after Bardhaman.
As I was just approaching the NH34 I found the approach closed by the police,probably monsoon water flooding it appears,I had to take a detour a very narrow village road to connect to NH 34 which goes adjacent to the Moregram railway station,I would warn others not to use this detour as my car(dzire) was almost about to stuck up the kachha road debris & muck.
Instead 10 km before approaching Moregram on SH7 to take right from Panchgram the road to Palsanda via Nabagram on NH34 can be taken,even google maps was unable to prewarn as it normally does.
This road around 9 kms is also in very bad shape but at least your vehicle wont get stuck up.

Two videos of the Kolkata Moregram ,the Bardhaman Moregram part in detailed way as on 28th June 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Va970prOs&t=20s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnmgVylEmTI

.......

[indrasis_gun]

To Samratrek Sir, How was the situation from Raigunj to Dalkhola?

[Samratrek]

Originally Posted by indrasis_gun

To Samratrek Sir, How was the situation from Raigunj to Dalkhola?

Dear Indrasish Ji
I had travelled from Muzaffarpur to Siliguri via Purnea using NH 31,which touches Dalkhola,I could see from a distance a huge almost 2 km long traffic jam on the underpass which turn towards right to join NH34,but as I was coming from Purnea side I saw some small vehicles use the flyover wrongly,as the flyover is meant for vehicles coming to Purnea from Islampur side,but I followed the local vehicles though on the wrong side & went past Dalkhola in just 5/6 minutes,from the flyover top I could also see a huge jam on the right side i.e on NH34 which merges with NH31.

I stayed in Siliguri for some personal work & went on to Kolkata after 3 days.
In this route the used the Dhantola Botolbari stretch which though took 2 hours but atleast & probably better than to get completely stuck up in the Dalkhola mess.

So technically speaking , I did not use the Dalkhola route.

Best Regards

[Samratrek]

Dear BHPians
When I last ventured around to Morgram & back to Kolkata probably on 1st July, the entry to NH 34 was blocked by police & I was not knowing the reason (may be very big potholes or deep water logging),heavier vehicles were being turned back to Panchgram from where there is a road which connects to Palsanda on NH34.
Can anyone say whether is this road blockage still existing today??
Regards
Samrat Mukherji

[Samratrek]

Originally Posted by Samratrek

Dear BHPians
When I last ventured around to Morgram & back to Kolkata probably on 1st July, the entry to NH 34 was blocked by police & I was not knowing the reason (may be very big potholes or deep water logging),heavier vehicles were being turned back to Panchgram from where there is a road which connects to Palsanda on NH34.

What I meant was this .....

[indrasis_gun]

Originally Posted by Samratrek

What I meant was this .....

Yes, that section which was blocked earlier, is now open and fully functional. I travelled on 11th August.

[Samratrek]

Travelled to Siliguri from Kolkata on 17th August, left Maniktala in Kolkata at around 6.10 AM reached Siliguri, Hakimpara at around 11.15 PM, route used was Bardhaman, SH7, Moregram, Farakka, Malda bypass, Raigunj, Dalkhola, Islampur.

Breakfast & Tea/Coffee breaks 30 minutes, lunch 15 minutes, dinner 40 minutes, rest are all traffic jams in Kaliyachak (20 minutes), Dalkhola (45 minutes) & Islampur (45 minutes).
Heavy downpour for constant 1 hour around Raigunj also got be to drive very slowly & delayed me.

Stayed for a day for my work & returned the next day that is on 19th, I could have stayed one day more but since 20th & 21st were lockdown days, decided to leave on 19th very early morning.
I left Hakimpara in pitch darkness sharp 03.00 AM & reached Maniktala, Kolkata at round 7.20 PM.
Route used was same but I used Dhantola-Botolbari Bengal to Bengal route saved a lot of time, I was in Dankuni at around 3.30 AM.
It took 4 hours to reach from Dankuni to Maniktala, thanks to the three signals in Dankuni & 1.5 hours traffic jam between Dunlop & Chiriamore.

Mod Note - Please put a space after a punctuation mark.
Thanks.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by Samratrek

Traveled to Siliguri from Kolkata on 17th August ,
Route used was same but I used Dhantola-Botolbari Bengal to Bengal route saved a lot of time, I was in Dankuni at around 3.30 AM.
It took 4 hours to reach from Dankuni to Maniktala, thanks to the three signals in Dankuni & 1.5 hours traffic jam between Dunlop & Chiriamore.

Thanks for sharing, how was the condition of the road surface, especially dhantala botolbari? It was in tatters in March.

Is SH7 open all through to morgram?

[Samratrek]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Thanks for sharing, how was the condition of the road surface, especially dhantala botolbari? It was in tatters in March.

Yes, SH7 is open all through but this monsoon is taking its toll and patches, potholes have developed in erstwhile better sections of this 125 km stretch. It took be roughly 4.5 hours to traverse this section.

The Dhantola Botolbari section is of 62 km of which the 25 km section towards Botolbari is full of shallow craters for which slowing down to 1st gear is not required for bigger cars or SUVs.
There are also large craters in 6/7 spots which were earlier not there, where I had to take to 1st gear in my Dzire.

Regards

[Thumping Soul]

So, the first leg of my journey completed last Weekend, and Bangalore to Kolkata. Now, the upcoming weekend, I plan to drive from Kolkata to my home town Bhagalpur.

Please advice on the best route to take and any precautions I should be taking.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Thumping Soul

Now, the upcoming weekend, I plan to drive from Kolkata to my home town Bhagalpur.

Please advice on the best route to take.

Calcutta - Durgapur - Asansol [a right turn here and you go off the main road] - Masalia - Dumka [a left turn here on Dumka - Hansdiha - Bhagalpur road] - Hansdiha - Bhagalpur.

With less stops, it should take 8 to 9 hours. And this is the route I take.

[Thumping Soul]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Calcutta - Durgapur - Asansol [a right turn here and you go off the main road] - Masalia - Dumka [a left turn here on Dumka - Hansdiha - Bhagalpur road] - Hansdiha - Bhagalpur.

With less stops, it should take 8 to 9 hours. And this is the route I take.

That's the route, even i'm aware of and also Google suggested.

So, will stick to this plan.

How are the road conditions, specially post rains?

[indrasis_gun]

I have compiled a video of under construction Dalkhola Bypass and then taking internal village roads to bypass the massive jam. Please watch the video. Now this route can be taken to bypass Dalkhola jam.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8AFyavnXyAA&t=5s

[Samratrek]

Originally Posted by indrasis_gun

I have compiled a video of under construction Dalkhola Bypass and then taking internal village roads to bypass the massive jam. Please watch the video. Now this route can be taken to bypass Dalkhola jam.

Indrasishji
Is the length of the video same as that of the travel time in this stretch i.e. roughly 35 minutes or is the video clipped & the actual travel time more ?? Thanks for this useful update after a long time, in fact many of us were/are completely unaware of this & I have taken a journey through Dalkhalo just a month ago & didn't know this .
If you can tell something about the entry & exit points to the highways 34 & 31, & how they can be identified it would benefit many of us.
Regards
Samrat

Mod Note - Please remove You Tube’s URL when quoting a post. Thanks.

[indrasis_gun]

Originally Posted by Samratrek

Indrasishji
Is the length of the video same as that of the travel time in the video......... about the entry & exit points to the highways 34 & 31, & how they can be identified it would benefit many of us.
Regards
Samrat

Sir, The actual travel time from entry point and exit point was 48 minutes exactly. In between 10 minutes were lost due to the level crossing just before the exit to NH 31 and due to passage of buses from opposite direction. This can be done in less time by experienced drivers (I learnt driving two years back) and in an suv (mine is swift). You can definitely give it a try as local buses were also taking this route. The entry point from NH 34 is the lower circle and exit point to NH 31 is the upper circle.