[bikertillidie]

Hi Ethereal,
I did a Pune -> Kolkata -> Pune around May this year for the second time in as many years driving my Manza Qjet. I had followed Route 1 mentioned on hvkumar's post. The roads are in excellent shape this time of the year barring Jamshola & the stretch till Kharagpur.

Due to road widening activities in progress between Nagpur - Bhandara, the section has to be covered slowly.

Roads in Odisha are in excellent shape except for the section where you cross Mahanadi river and enter Sambalpur town.

[ethereal]

Originally Posted by bikertillidie

Hi Ethereal,
I did a Pune -> Kolkata -> Pune around May this year for the second time in as many years driving my Manza Qjet. I had followed Route 1 mentioned on hvkumar's post. The roads are in excellent shape this time of the year barring Jamshola & the stretch till Kharagpur.

Due to road widening activities in progress between Nagpur - Bhandara, the section has to be covered slowly.

Roads in Odisha are in excellent shape except for the section where you cross Mahanadi river and enter Sambalpur town.

Hi bikertillidie,
Thanks for the update. Appreciate if you can please confirm, Route1 as mentioned HV Kumar, is four lane throughout? Roughly how many KMs you got bad stretch around Jamshola? When you .."stretch till Kharagpur", you mean Kolkata to Kharagpur right?

Thanks in advance !

Regards,
Ethereal

[bikertillidie]

Hi Ethereal,

Route 1 is a mix of two, four & six lane roads. But it should not really bother a competent driver. You can easily sustain speeds between 80 kmph - 130 kmph based on the condition of the road.

The section of NH6 between Durg & Raipur passes through the heart of the city, hence speeds would drop as there is a lot of local traffic to provide company.

The pot-holed/lunar crater like stretch around Jamshola is about 2 -3 kilometers long. You might scrape the sump guard of your manza on some occasions but with careful driving, there should be no serious damage.

The portion of the road between Jamshola & parts of Midnapur district in West Bengal (Lodhashuli, Jhargram, Kalaikunda Air Force base etc) till Kharagpur has developed lots of potholes.

Please drive carefully and wish you a safe journey.

[Parryontheprowl]

Hello Everyone,

I have just joined Team-BHP but I had been following this post for some time. On 29 September 2013, I traveled by road from Kolkata to Akaltara (Chattisgarh) to attend the last rites of my aunt. The route and road conditions are enumerated in the following paragraphs:

1. I started from Kolkata at 5:20 am and reached Kolaghat at 6:30 am where I took an early breakfast at one of the dhabas opposite Sher-e-Punjab. The road is good but there are quite a few diversions since the road is being widened and there are a few flyovers being constructed to by pass the small towns. As I had started from Kolkata early, I did not find any petrol pump open on my way out. Therefore, I had to stop at a petrol pump just before reaching Kharagpur. From my home in Kolkata to NH 6 - GQ crossing at Kharagpur, the trip meter read 136.4 Kms.

2. As advised by a friend, I took the GQ from Kharagpur and headed towards Amarda Road. The GQ is being repaired and almost the entire stretch is diverted to one flank. The road condition is excellent. At the Orissa -West Bengal border, there was a huge traffic jam. I spoke to a couple of local people who advised me to enter Jaleswar town and bypass the border. The road leading upto Jaleswar town was bad but motorable. Once inside Orissa, the road improved dramatically. It was a pleasure to drive. This road runs parallel to the GQ till it meets with the GQ just before the Subarnarekha Bridge. Excellent effort by Orissa PWD. After crossing the Subarnareka river, I reached the Amarda Road crossing in no time and took a right turn towards Baripada. The trip meter read 231.1 Kms.

3. SH 61 from Amarda Road to Baripada is a single lane road, wide enough to allow two vehicles to cross and again, a pleasure to drive on. The lush green jungles are a treat to the eyes. The trip meter at Baripada SH 61 - NH 5 crossing read 277.1 Kms. Took a right turn on NH 5 towards Jharpokhariya/Bangriposi. This stretch of NH 5 is in excellent condition. After 22 Kms on this road, I took a left turn towards Bangriposi instead of going to Jharpokhariya. Another excellent road maintained by Orissa PWD. From this tri-junction to Bangriposi is 14 Kms. The trip meter read 315.1 Kms. On reaching Bangriposi, I rejoined NH 6.

4. From Bangriposi to Bishoi, the NH 6 is marred by potholes but driveable. 6-10 Kms on both sides of Bishoi is in poor condition, after which NH 6 is in excellent condition upto Jashipur and Keonjhar. On this stretch, the road passes through a corner of Simlipal National Park and Tiger Reserve. I reached Keonjhar at 01:15 pm and the trip meter read 439.1 Kms. Just before Keonjhar Town, there is Raj Restaurant, which serves good food. I took an extended break here.

5. I was on the road again at 3:00 pm and reached Pal Laharha at 4:30 pm at a leisurely pace while enjoying the natural beauty of Kanjipani Ghat section. At Pal Laharha, my sister, brother-in-law and their daughter joined me. They were coming from Cuttack. Together, we traveled to Barkote where a relative of ours own a petrol pump. After a 1 hour snack halt, we reached Deogarh by last light. Trip meter read 564.1 kms. We stayed at a relative's house for the night.

6. We were delayed by our relatives and could only start by 11:00 am. From here on, all four of us were in my car. We took NH 6 upto Jamankira (40.4 Kms) from where we took a right turn towards Bhojpur-Kuchinda. Jamankira to Bhojpur is 13.5 Kms and Bhojpur to Kuchinda is 12.8 Kms. Excellent Road. From Kuchinda, we went to Jharsuguda (48.6 Kms), the road being fairly good. We had difficulty finding our way out of Jharsuguda. Every person we asked had a different route to tell. Anyways, Jharsuguda to Raigarh via Belpahar is 91 kms and the road is fairly good. Lunch awaited us at Raigarh at a friend's place. He had advised us to take a detour at Kanaktora. This saved us a lot of time. After lunch, we were back on the road at 4:30 pm. The roads in Chhattisgarh are bad. Moreover, four railway crossings (all closed) did not help our progress. In one of these crossings, five trains passed before we could move on. As far as roads go, Chhattisgarh Govt is highly overrated. We reached Janjgir at 8:30 pm and were put up at Hotel Dream Point which is right on the highway between Champa and Janjgir. Good place to stay and excellent food. Tired of driving on bad roads, we retired early after dinner.

7. The next day was spent at Akaltara (20 Kms from Janjgir) at the ancestral house of my aunt who had passed away. Me and my sister had last been to this place 30 years ago as children. A lot of people who knew us/our father came to meet us. Nostalgic. It was precisely for this reason that we had decided to travel by road. Anyways, it was a solemn day, spent with family and friends. With heavy hearts, we drove back to Janjgir at night and retired early after dinner.

8. Next day, we made the trip back but this time it came with a twist. We reached Raigarh alright. After a brief snack stop at our friend's place, we left for Jharsuguda. On our way out to Kanaktora, we missed a turn. The road was excellent but wider than the Kanaktora road. However, locals told us that we were on the right track. The milestones read ORISSA BORDER. After 26 Kms, the road abruptly ended with a huge sign which read "Chhattisgarh mein punah Padharein". There was no road ahead. We were in the middle of a Jungle. We had to backtrack 7 Kms before we could find civilization. A few enquiries later, we were guided to a kutcha track which finally led us to a junction on NH 200, much ahead of Kanaktora. Delayed by more than an hour, we stopped for lunch at a Dhaba on the Chattisgarh-Orissa border. The owner was from Kanpur and served us an excellent lunch. Madhuban Dhaba it was, if I remember correctly, at a small place called Gobindpur, just inside Orissa. The gentleman was courteous and even offered us home cooked laddoos, cooked by his mother in desi ghee. Kudos to people like him who make the journey worthwhile. Back on the road, we reached Jharsuguda by sundown and made a hasty exit towards Kuchinda. From Kuchinda, we took the straight route to Deogarh via Bhojpur - Pravasuni - Tileibani. This road is motorable but not as good as the Jamankira route. It is risky too because it passes through Maoist infested terrain. We reached Deogarh safely at 8:30 pm. We had a quiet dinner and retired early.

9. As planned, I started early (6:30 am) and reached Balam (15 Kms.) at 7:50 am. There was a Rasta Roko by the locals at Balam from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. They were protesting against the local MLA's brother who had constructed a road under the Rajiv Gandhi Gram Sadak Pariyojana for a sum of 1.5 crores and the road got washed away during the monsoon. There was nothing that I could do about it so I decided to fall back to Deogarh. Back in Deogarh, we decided to do some local sight-seeing so we went to Pradhan Pat (waterfall), Kailash (a private shikargaah of the erstwhile ruling family) and a private goat farm owned by one of our relatives. Excellent short trips from Deogarh. After lunch, we slept for a couple of hours. At 5:30 pm, I , in may car and my sister's family in their car, left Deogarh and reached Balam just in time to see the Rasta Roko being cleared. We were the first to cross this point and headed for Pal Laharha where we parted ways. I carried on till Keonjhar where I reached at 8:30 pm. At keonjhar, I stayed at the guest house of Ravindra Vidya Niketan, a new residential school, owned by a friend. The arrangements were excellent. Had a quiet dinner with the staff and students and retired early.

10. Next day, I started at 5:45 am after tea and made good progress. Another twist awaited. At Bangriposi, I decided to take NH 6 to Kharagpur. What a bad decision . The road started to deteriorate after Bombay Chhak (Jharpokhariya). At Jamsola border, there is no traffic jam because they have made by-lanes for trucks. Soon after crossing the Subarnarekha river, the road turned into hell. In Jharkhand, roads do not exist. The craters were so deep, they could put our moon to shame. Each stretch of these craters lasted for 1-2 Kms. Even the truckers were finding it difficult to negotiate. It took some hardcore nerves to negotiate this stretch without a single scratch to the car. The entire stretch upto Kharagpur is bad, extremely bad, hellish to be precise. Do not take this road - ever. After successfully negotiating this stretch, I reached Kalaikunda at 12:05 pm. Barely had I taken a deep sigh, it began to rain like cats and dogs. The visibility was reduced to a few meters and I had to drive with headlights and blinkers on. Beyond Kharagpur, the rain eased out and I reached Kolaghat at 1:15 pm, just the right time for a lunch break. Since I had eaten at Sher-e-Punjab on earlier occasions and was also expecting a lot of crowd there, I decided to stop just before the under-pass at a Motel called Pathik. The food was excellent and their restaurant was quiet and comfortable. The food was reasonable priced too. After lunch, I began the last leg of my journey towards Kolkata. There were a lot of traffic jams on the way. Fortunately, they were diverting small vehicles to the other flank and I made good progress. At the Vidyasagar Setu, there was a huge traffic jam. I was fortunate because I could take the 'exempted vehicles' lane and was able to avoid most of this jam. I finally reached home-sweet-home at 3:45 pm, took a shower and went to sleep. My trusty old Ford Fiesta had clocked 1844 Kms and had survived without a scratch or a puncture. Bravo.

It was a nice and nostalgic trip. The time spent with family and friends on my way will be cherished all my life. I do hope that fellow Team-BHP members will benefit out of my experience. If any of you need further clarifications, I would be glad to share.

Regards and safe driving!!!

[abhays06]

Planning a trip next week from Mumbai to Korba. Intend to use NH 3 upto Dhule, then NH 6 upto Durg and then use SH 200 from Durg to Bilaspur. Can any one update me the road condition of National Highway 6 (NH 6) and State Highway 200 (SH 200) which is in Chattisgarh. Would appreciate an early repsonse

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by abhays06

Planning a trip next week from Mumbai to Korba. Intend to use NH 3 upto Dhule, then NH 6 upto Durg and then use SH 200 from Durg to Bilaspur. Can any one update me the road condition of National Highway 6 (NH 6) and State Highway 200 (SH 200) which is in Chattisgarh. Would appreciate an early repsonse

Cannot help but would ask a question.
Any reason why you would like to avoid the more popular - Pune - A'nagar-A'bad-Nagpur route which is reportedly good?

[abhays06]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

Cannot help but would ask a question.
Any reason why you would like to avoid the more popular - Pune - A'nagar-A'bad-Nagpur route which is reportedly good?

I have heard from various sources that current condition of the Pune - Ahmednagar - Aurangabad - Nagpur route is bad after recent rains. That's the reason I was using the route via Dhule.

[Majumdarda]

Guys, It is still in the planning phases, but I would like to have your inputs to help me decide .

Come August-September, I wish to travel to Kharagpur, and then Asansol from Pune on my Bullet 500. In this entire stretch the only section that I am aware of is between Kharagpur to Asansol.

Now, if I refer the google there are visibly two options available :-

Option 1

Day 1 :Pune to Nagpur via Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Amravati. (Approx 800 kilometer)
Day 2 :Nagpur to Sambhalpur via Durg, Raipur (Approx 600 kilometer)
Day 3 :Sambhalpur to Kharagpur (Approx 450 kilometers)

Drawback :- Quite recently one of our BHP members did this on his motorcycle and has informed that the road between Sambhalpur to Kharagpur, is no road at all. In fact it is quite risky to travel on this stretch. Personally I feel that it will be too much of a risk at the monsoons.

Option 2

Day 1 :Pune to Hyderabad via Solapur, Zaheerabad (Approx 650 kilometer)
Day 2 :Hyderabad to Vishakapatnam via Vijayawada (Approx 650 kilometer)
Day 3 :Vishakapatnam to Kharagpur via Bhubaneshwar (Approx 800 kilometer)

Drawback :- Very long journey it seems.

Option 3

This is my own idea after looking at maps etc, to mix and match option 1 and 2

Day 1 :Pune to Nagpur via Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Amravati. (Approx 800 kilometer)
Day 2 :Nagpur to Sambhalpur via Durg, Raipur (Approx 600 kilometer)
Day 3 : Sambhalpur to Bhubaneshwar to Kharagpur (Approx 300 + 350 kilometer)


The plan is still in the inception phase but would definitely like to have your esteemed inputs, to make the decision on it.

Fact being:- I have no long ride experience on a two wheeler but if I can realize my dream of owning a bullet, then I see no reason as to why I cannot complete this ride.

Please advise.

Bikramjit.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Guys, It is still in the planning phases, but I would like to have your inputs to help me decide .

Come August-September, I wish to travel to Kharagpur, and then Asansol from Pune on my Bullet 500. In this entire stretch the only section that I am aware of is between Kharagpur to Asansol.

Now, if I refer the google there are visibly two options available :-

Option 1

Day 1 :Pune to Nagpur via Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Amravati. (Approx 800 kilometer)
Day 2 :Nagpur to Sambhalpur via Durg, Raipur (Approx 600 kilometer)
Day 3 :Sambhalpur to Kharagpur (Approx 450 kilometers)

Drawback :- Quite recently one of our BHP members did this on his motorcycle and has informed that the road between Sambhalpur to Kharagpur, is no road at all. In fact it is quite risky to travel on this stretch. Personally I feel that it will be too much of a risk at the monsoons.

Option 2

Day 1 :Pune to Hyderabad via Solapur, Zaheerabad (Approx 650 kilometer)
Day 2 :Hyderabad to Vishakapatnam via Vijayawada (Approx 650 kilometer)
Day 3 :Vishakapatnam to Kharagpur via Bhubaneshwar (Approx 800 kilometer)

Drawback :- Very long journey it seems.

Option 3

This is my own idea after looking at maps etc, to mix and match option 1 and 2

Day 1 :Pune to Nagpur via Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Amravati. (Approx 800 kilometer)
Day 2 :Nagpur to Sambhalpur via Durg, Raipur (Approx 600 kilometer)
Day 3 : Sambhalpur to Bhubaneshwar to Kharagpur (Approx 300 + 350 kilometer)


The plan is still in the inception phase but would definitely like to have your esteemed inputs, to make the decision on it.

Fact being:- I have no long ride experience on a two wheeler but if I can realize my dream of owning a bullet, then I see no reason as to why I cannot complete this ride.

Please advise.

Bikramjit.

IMHO,why not consider the longer but safer and majority 4laned roads via this route http://goo.gl/maps/PFIY1

Mumbai-Pune-Nagar-Dhule-Indore-Kolaras-Bhognipur-Allahabad-Kolkata.

Mumbai-Indore:approx 8-10hrs/700kms
Indore-Choudagra:Approx in 12hrs /700kms
Choudagra-Kolkata:Approx 12hrs/900kms

PS:I assumed you starting from Mumbai,so please make adjustments accordingly on the map and maybe a reduction of 200kms.

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Guys, It is still in the planning phases, but I would like to have your inputs to help me decide .

Come August-September, I wish to travel to Kharagpur, and then Asansol from Pune on my Bullet 500. In this entire stretch the only section that I am aware of is between Kharagpur to Asansol.

Now, if I refer the google there are visibly two options available :-

Option 1

Day 1 :Pune to Nagpur via Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Amravati. (Approx 800 kilometer)
Day 2 :Nagpur to Sambhalpur via Durg, Raipur (Approx 600 kilometer)
Day 3 :Sambhalpur to Kharagpur (Approx 450 kilometers)

Drawback :- Quite recently one of our BHP members did this on his motorcycle and has informed that the road between Sambhalpur to Kharagpur, is no road at all. In fact it is quite risky to travel on this stretch. Personally I feel that it will be too much of a risk at the monsoons.

Option 2

Day 1 :Pune to Hyderabad via Solapur, Zaheerabad (Approx 650 kilometer)
Day 2 :Hyderabad to Vishakapatnam via Vijayawada (Approx 650 kilometer)
Day 3 :Vishakapatnam to Kharagpur via Bhubaneshwar (Approx 800 kilometer)

Drawback :- Very long journey it seems.

Option 3

This is my own idea after looking at maps etc, to mix and match option 1 and 2

Day 1 :Pune to Nagpur via Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Amravati. (Approx 800 kilometer)
Day 2 :Nagpur to Sambhalpur via Durg, Raipur (Approx 600 kilometer)
Day 3 : Sambhalpur to Bhubaneshwar to Kharagpur (Approx 300 + 350 kilometer)


The plan is still in the inception phase but would definitely like to have your esteemed inputs, to make the decision on it.

Fact being:- I have no long ride experience on a two wheeler but if I can realize my dream of owning a bullet, then I see no reason as to why I cannot complete this ride.

Please advise.

Bikramjit.

What i can understand from your post is that if you take option 1, you don't have a problem/concern upto Sambalpur. Your main concern is for the Sambalpur-Kharagpur portion.

Presently the road is not in such a bad condition except for the Jharkhand portion, but there are ways to avoid that portion. I think you can take a detour through Baripada-Lakshmannath-Dantan-Belda to Kharagpur. But the million dollar question is how will these roads be after the monsoon in 2014.

I have always used the route shown in your post as option 3, via NH42. You don't actually go through Bhubaneshwar, you'll join NH5 at Manguli Chowk 17KM ahead of Cuttack. This way Sambalpur-Kharagpur would be 115/120 KM extra (compared to NH6). NH42 is lovely 2 lane through some interior countryside and NH5 is 4 laned GQ.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by Sommos

What i can understand from your post is that if you take option 1, you don't have a problem/concern upto Sambalpur. Your main concern is for the Sambalpur-Kharagpur portion.

Presently the road is not in such a bad condition except for the Jharkhand portion, but there are ways to avoid that portion. I think you can take a detour through Baripada-Lakshmannath-Dantan-Belda to Kharagpur. But the million dollar question is how will these roads be after the monsoon in 2014.

That will mean doubling back from Bangriposi (or Jharkoporia) to Baripada .. Balasore. Approx 80 Km.
If this is the route chosen, I would see if I could drive through/ spend a day in Simlipal (Jashipur - Lulung/ Pithabata).

From Baripada another option is Gopiballabhpur. (Can be a mess during monsoons).

Regards
Sutripta

[Sutripta]

^^^
Just realised that this was advice for a bike tour. In that case Simlipal is out.

Regards
Sutripta

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

From Baripada another option is Gopiballabhpur. (Can be a mess during monsoons).

Dear Sutriptada,
Do you have any idea about the current condition of Hatibari-Gopiballabhpur route? It was in not very good shape when our Smarajit took that road more than a year ago. Any update of that road Sir?
Regards,
Rahul

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

Dear Sutriptada,
Do you have any idea about the current condition of Hatibari-Gopiballabhpur route?

No idea. Actually I've not used Jamsola for quite sometime now.
For road information, we rely on you young Turks nowadays. Not the other way around!

In any case was talking of the Baripada - Gopiballabhpur road. (The one pointed to by a weatherbeaten sign saying 'Deuli Dam')

Regards
Sutripta

[xtremedeep]

I did Pune - Kolkata - Pune on fag end of December early Jan. This time around I took the Hyderabad Option, agreed its a tad longer, but the roads made up for more than that, in comparison to Pune -A'nagar-Nagpur-Raigarh-Sambalpur-Kharagpur route. The only section where you can't drive peacefully is Solapur - Hyderabad section.