re: Kolkata - Siliguri route via Dumka, Bhagalpur or NH-12 (old NH-34) Calcutta to Siliguri partial update:
A holiday in the Dooars of North Bengal was on and the most information I required for the entire trip was the condition of NH34/NH31 or the alternatives. After reading through various travelogues and post, decided on the Purnia route which is Calcutta - Panagarh - Ilambazar - Dubrajpur - Siuri - Massanjore - Dumka - Bhagalpur - Purnia - Dalkhola - Kishanganj - Islampur - Bagdogra - Siliguri. I took the Safari Storme.
1. Panagargh - Islampur - Dubrajpur - Siuri: Lots of potholes, wide single lane till Islampur, narrower after that till Siuri, low traffic but I found quite a few stretches of maintained roads where you can do upto 100 kmph. Exit from Siuri was the closest to hell as I ever got. A very narrow road, almost a galli, which is a 2 way road meant for heavy trucks and is also the bus route to Dunmka and Mohammad Bazar. This exist has the biggest crater I have seen in an urban/semi-urban area. It could take in at least 3/4th of an Alto. This left turn is after Tilpapara Barrage.
2. Siuri - Massanjore - Dumka: Its a narrow single lane highway, but in good condition, especially when you are about to reach Massanjore. This is 114A. I really enjoyed the drive, more so due to the scenery it presented. The same continued till Dumka minus the scenic beauty which soon converted to flat plains as we approached Dumka.
3. Dumka - Bhagalpur: NH 17/19 (not sure if they were NH or SH). Potholes returned, slowing down my progress heavily. Missed the bypass to Vikramshila Setu and had to wade through terrible Bhagalpur traffic. Roads in Bhagalpur, at least the main ones are being reconstructed. They are laying concrete slabs. What they have done till the time I reached there was lay down the slabs on one side of a road. This meant that there was a 2 ft difference in height between the 2 way traffic without a median or any bifurcation. And the people in Bhagalpur is not liking the fact that one way has a smoother surface than the other side of the same road. So they started using the lane which is not meant for them. This includes cars who decided to park on that 10 feet wide slab. So basically I was stuck on a 10 ft wide slab with an Indica parked on my left and a rickshaw, going the other way, on my right and vehicles honking from behind because I could not move forward. I am not very sure how I crossed that stretch, to be honest.
4. Bhagalpur - Naugachia - Purnia: Again lots of potholes to watch out for, especially if driving after sun down. Some stretches are however good.
5. Purnia - Dalkhola: Newly built single lane highway with defined markings. Time to make up some lost time. Beyond dalkhola is a 4-lane stretch though it misses a layer of pitch at most places.
Notes on Dalkhola to Siliguri in the next section. I went via Bagdogra and into Siliguri city. I started at 5.30 am and reached Siliguri at 1.00 am. Had to take long stoppages as I was traveling with a 2 year old. Entire stretch has very little options for ladies' toilets, except for petrol pumps where toilets are unkept and usually locked after hours. Dalkhola BP petrol pump seemed to be the most suited after we left NH2 at Panagarh.
Retrun (NH 31/31D/31C/34)
The return leg was coming back from Cooch Behar. So I took Cooch Behar - Mathabhanga - Changrabandha - Maynaguri - Jalpaiguri - Siliguri route.
1. Jalpaiguri to Siliguri stretch: The single lane highway (31D) is wide but littered with potholes and in some cases huge craters. The condition is the same for Jalpaiguri bypass. Note that there is also a lot of traffic on this road at all hours.
2. Siliguri Bypass / Fulbari Ghoshpukur Bypass: AVOID at all costs! I went into it not knowing the condition; looked like a better way to avoid Siliguri city traffic and Bagdogra. It is a part of 31D but looked like it had been avoided by authorities for decades. It had craters that could gulp down my Safari. Very heavy traffic though mostly trucks which brewed up a dust column in that area reducing visibility to a few meters. I was driving after sun down which made it worse. I could not make out if 4-laning of this stretch was in progress. The entire stretch till I hit Rishi Road was like that. After which it was much better. The bypass meets NH 31 at Ghoshpukur. Alternative route (or rather the preferred route) should be 31D to 31C thorugh the Siliguri city and on to Bagdogra - Ghoshpukur - Bidhan Nagar and then on to Islampur.
3. Ghoshpukur - Dalkhola: Mostly 4-laned with small stretches of 2-laned (single lane) highway. However, condition is just about ok. Though potholes are less, the entire stretch seemed to be unevenly missing a layer of tarmac making the ride a lot less comfortable. Again very heavy traffic.
4. Dalkhola - Farakka: Almost immediately after Dalkhola, the single lane highway starts which is characterized mostly by loss of maintenance due to 4-laning project, pot-holes, missing a layer of tarmac, bad traffic and reckless bus driving. That's how I crossed Karandighi, Raiganj, Gazole, English Bazar and Kaliachak to reach Farakka. Had to be very cautious as I realized the authorities have done a very poor job in marking the diversions properly. I had to drive into oncoming trucks at least twice as I had missed that all 4 lanes in a certain stretch was operational. Never had this problem while driving in the GQ where they had all diversions marked with reflectors and sign boards that started at least 500m to 1km away. Got delayed due at Karandighi with no vehicles moving at either direction for about 30 odd mins for no apparent reason. Surprisingly the dreaded Kaliachak did not offer any delays.
5. Farakka - Morgram: The story changes entirely after Farakka. 4-laned roads, fresh tarmac, neatly laid reflectors - all shiny and new. Yet at one point, without a warning the 4-lane ended and you are supposed to turn right into the oncoming lane for a diversion. The stretch between the 2 sections is about 10 meters. This part consists of holes, boulders, dust, old tarmac, etc, a nightmare when you are cruising smoothly at 100-110kmph and suddenly you realize the road has ended and you have to land into Mars terrain and take a right turn into high beams of oncoming trucks! And guess what? Another unmarked diversion. But apart from that small incident, the ride was super smooth.
At Morgram I decided not to pursue NH 34 any more but to take a diversion via Nalhat - Rampurhat - Sainthia - Bolpur - Guskhara - Bardhaman - NH2 into Calcutta. Note the road was excellent. Broad, well maintained and reasonably less traffic at that hour (4 am).
I think this should be the default route for Calcutta-Siliguri for the next few years. Hope the update helps. |