Query: Varanasi -> Saharsa (Bihar) -> Delhi

Sheel · 11th June 2014, 13:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhaji

There seems to be another road, I think NH91, via Kannauj and Aligarh. One can get on to Yamuna Expressway from Aligarh. Do you have any idea about this?

Nonstop-Driver's post on the link to the page that I had posted describes very very bad road between Barbigha and Mokameh. Maybe one can just bypass barbigha by going via Lakkhisarai and Sikandra, or even Jamui, to Nawada from Mokameh.

Sorry, have no idea about it.

jhaji · 22nd July 2014, 16:27

It is time I reported on the route I took from Varanasi to Saharsa and then from Saharsa back to Delhi.

Routes taken were as follows:

Varanasi to Saharsa: Varanasi-Ghazipur-Ballia-Chapra-Mujaffarpur-Bhaptiyahi (on EW corridor)-Supaul-Saharsa.

Saharsa to Delhi: Saharsa-Supaul-Bhaptiyahi-Mujaffarpur-Hajipur-Patna-Arrah-Mohania-NH2 to Delhi.

Part 1:Varanasi to Saharsa

On the morning of 1st of July I started from Varanasi and drove to Asapur Chowk near Sarnath and took the road to Gazipur. The road was bad, full of potholes and broken at places, passing through little towns. There was barely a stretch I could drive in fourth gear for more than five minutes. Took me two and a half hours for 75 kms or so.

Then I entered the town of Gazipur and had to negotiate some large ditches full of water and a lot of traffic to get on the Gazipur-Balia Rashtriya Rajmarg. And this was indeed a very pleasant drive on decent winding roads. Road conditions deteriorated as we got closer to Ballia, but not too bad. I entered Ballia town but the road to Chapra was easy to find and finally crossed the bridge on the river Saryu to enter Bihar and finally Chapra.

It took a long while to cross Chapra town in the middle of the day and then a long almost 7-8 kilometers stretch of non-existing road on the way to Mujaffarpur. This really tested my patience. Work was going on here to build the road. After this the road was decent but a lot of local traffic. Finally reached Mujaffarpur at around 6.30 in the evening. Plan had been to reach here by 3 in the afternoon, but bad road stretches and getting through towns with extremely bad roads upset those plans.

But now I was on the EW corridor. Road was excellent but both side traffic was directed on the same side two lanes for a stretch of about 10 kilometers between Mujaffarpur and Darbhanga. There are frequent cuts on the road for traffic to get across and one has to be careful. After traveling on this road for about 130 kms or more and after crossing the 'Kosi Mahasetu' I turned right at Bhaptiyahi towards Supaul. This was a two-lane road but butter smooth. It was already late so mostly deserted and it was a wonderful drive through open spaces and sleepy villages and towns to Saharsa.

Part 2: Saharsa to Delhi

Now back to Delhi on the 5th of July: Decided to avoid Gopalganj and went towards Hajipur from Mujaffarpur. New 4 lane is operational though not fully ready. At Hajipur encountered a bit of a jam. It had been pouring for most of the day. Thankfully Mahatma Gandhi Setu was crossed without any drama. Instead of taking the bypass at Patna took the inside road through Kumhrar in the city on the advice of a local and it was good till we crossed the station and were searching for Bailey road. Followed one kind motorcyclist through some winding roads via Patna airport and finally landed on Bailey road almost at Danapur. Extremely congested road for some distance because of a flyover construction and then to Danapur station and turned right towards Arrah.

The road to Arrah was not good. Lots of undone stretches full of local traffic. It was already dark when we reached Arrah and then continued on to Mohania. To my surprise, the first fifty kilometers or so of this road were really broken and full of deep potholes. There were a few better stretches ahead but you could never count on them. Suddenly the potholes will appear. And it was raining all along. Apparently four laning has started and they are not paying attention to repair of the existing road. Reached Mohania late night. Enquired around for hotels but finally drove on. NH2 till Varanasi was in a bad condition. At least it seemed so in the pouring rain late at night.

For the first time I did what a lot of BHPians do. Parked the car at a petrol pump and tried to sleep. My non-driving companion was snoring away. Couldn’t get any sleep for 45 minutes or so. Drove on and stopped further on another petrol pump (near Varanasi) and slept for 3 hours. Here one side of the 4 lane highway was completely blocked by trucks parked for the night. I was up at 5.30 and started driving. Stopped at Rajput Dhaba to use the toilet and for a cup of tea and drove on and on with lot of stops for tea and for resting my knee. I was at the Agra end of YEW at 7 and became relaxed. Too relaxed perhaps because now the sleep was hitting me. Stopped near a toll gate to take a short nap and then drove on to Delhi via Greater Noida.

Part 3: Remarks

The journey was difficult in stretches and enjoyable in other parts. After having done the journey I felt very happy to have done it. Some stretches of drive were really enjoyable and beautiful - especially Ghazipur-Ballia one late morning and Bhaptiyahi-Saharsa late night.

My car - Toyota Liva GD - didn't fail me through some very bad roads and lots and lots of rain. Its underbody took a hit at 2 or 3 places. Couple of monster speed breakers (I was crawling over them) at Saharsa and then again at Hajipur. Thankfully, no punctures.

Before I started from Delhi, I went around searching for a tyre guy who would redo all the previous puncture repairs by using mushroom patch. I found one next to Ashoka Hotel after wandering a lot and stood there for 2-3 hours to get it done. It was not exactly mushroom patch but some sort of patch put on the tire from inside along with heat treatment. Seems worthwhile. This tyre guy is on the corner of a company owned petrol pump right next to Ashoka Hotel gate on Neeti Marg (I think that is the name of the road).

That's it for now.

22nd July 2014, 16:27	#17
jhaji BHPian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Delhi Posts: 137 Thanked: 219 Times	Re: Query: Varanasi -> Saharsa (Bihar) -> Delhi It is time I reported on the route I took from Varanasi to Saharsa and then from Saharsa back to Delhi. Routes taken were as follows: Varanasi to Saharsa: Varanasi-Ghazipur-Ballia-Chapra-Mujaffarpur-Bhaptiyahi (on EW corridor)-Supaul-Saharsa. Saharsa to Delhi: Saharsa-Supaul-Bhaptiyahi-Mujaffarpur-Hajipur-Patna-Arrah-Mohania-NH2 to Delhi. Part 1:Varanasi to Saharsa On the morning of 1st of July I started from Varanasi and drove to Asapur Chowk near Sarnath and took the road to Gazipur. The road was bad, full of potholes and broken at places, passing through little towns. There was barely a stretch I could drive in fourth gear for more than five minutes. Took me two and a half hours for 75 kms or so. Then I entered the town of Gazipur and had to negotiate some large ditches full of water and a lot of traffic to get on the Gazipur-Balia Rashtriya Rajmarg. And this was indeed a very pleasant drive on decent winding roads. Road conditions deteriorated as we got closer to Ballia, but not too bad. I entered Ballia town but the road to Chapra was easy to find and finally crossed the bridge on the river Saryu to enter Bihar and finally Chapra. It took a long while to cross Chapra town in the middle of the day and then a long almost 7-8 kilometers stretch of non-existing road on the way to Mujaffarpur. This really tested my patience. Work was going on here to build the road. After this the road was decent but a lot of local traffic. Finally reached Mujaffarpur at around 6.30 in the evening. Plan had been to reach here by 3 in the afternoon, but bad road stretches and getting through towns with extremely bad roads upset those plans. But now I was on the EW corridor. Road was excellent but both side traffic was directed on the same side two lanes for a stretch of about 10 kilometers between Mujaffarpur and Darbhanga. There are frequent cuts on the road for traffic to get across and one has to be careful. After traveling on this road for about 130 kms or more and after crossing the 'Kosi Mahasetu' I turned right at Bhaptiyahi towards Supaul. This was a two-lane road but butter smooth. It was already late so mostly deserted and it was a wonderful drive through open spaces and sleepy villages and towns to Saharsa. Part 2: Saharsa to Delhi Now back to Delhi on the 5th of July: Decided to avoid Gopalganj and went towards Hajipur from Mujaffarpur. New 4 lane is operational though not fully ready. At Hajipur encountered a bit of a jam. It had been pouring for most of the day. Thankfully Mahatma Gandhi Setu was crossed without any drama. Instead of taking the bypass at Patna took the inside road through Kumhrar in the city on the advice of a local and it was good till we crossed the station and were searching for Bailey road. Followed one kind motorcyclist through some winding roads via Patna airport and finally landed on Bailey road almost at Danapur. Extremely congested road for some distance because of a flyover construction and then to Danapur station and turned right towards Arrah. The road to Arrah was not good. Lots of undone stretches full of local traffic. It was already dark when we reached Arrah and then continued on to Mohania. To my surprise, the first fifty kilometers or so of this road were really broken and full of deep potholes. There were a few better stretches ahead but you could never count on them. Suddenly the potholes will appear. And it was raining all along. Apparently four laning has started and they are not paying attention to repair of the existing road. Reached Mohania late night. Enquired around for hotels but finally drove on. NH2 till Varanasi was in a bad condition. At least it seemed so in the pouring rain late at night. For the first time I did what a lot of BHPians do. Parked the car at a petrol pump and tried to sleep. My non-driving companion was snoring away. Couldn’t get any sleep for 45 minutes or so. Drove on and stopped further on another petrol pump (near Varanasi) and slept for 3 hours. Here one side of the 4 lane highway was completely blocked by trucks parked for the night. I was up at 5.30 and started driving. Stopped at Rajput Dhaba to use the toilet and for a cup of tea and drove on and on with lot of stops for tea and for resting my knee. I was at the Agra end of YEW at 7 and became relaxed. Too relaxed perhaps because now the sleep was hitting me. Stopped near a toll gate to take a short nap and then drove on to Delhi via Greater Noida. Part 3: Remarks The journey was difficult in stretches and enjoyable in other parts. After having done the journey I felt very happy to have done it. Some stretches of drive were really enjoyable and beautiful - especially Ghazipur-Ballia one late morning and Bhaptiyahi-Saharsa late night. My car - Toyota Liva GD - didn't fail me through some very bad roads and lots and lots of rain. Its underbody took a hit at 2 or 3 places. Couple of monster speed breakers (I was crawling over them) at Saharsa and then again at Hajipur. Thankfully, no punctures. Before I started from Delhi, I went around searching for a tyre guy who would redo all the previous puncture repairs by using mushroom patch. I found one next to Ashoka Hotel after wandering a lot and stood there for 2-3 hours to get it done. It was not exactly mushroom patch but some sort of patch put on the tire from inside along with heat treatment. Seems worthwhile. This tyre guy is on the corner of a company owned petrol pump right next to Ashoka Hotel gate on Neeti Marg (I think that is the name of the road). That's it for now.
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