[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by FATAL3RROR

Hi guys!!

Reviving this thread again! I am onsite on a project in Kolkata for the next couple of months. So, planning to drive down from Pune to Kolkata.

Any clues about the present condition of the route suggested by hvkumar? Any info will be appreciated!

Thanks!

Next couple of months - roads will be much improved, even in Orissa. From Pune, you can go to Nagpur directly via Aurangabad, Yeomal and Wardha and avoid the bad roads around Amaravathi.

[Captdey]

For Kolkata - Mumbai and And Kolkata - Delhi , Read this travelogue by.
Mr.Debasish Mukherjee on his blogspot dmandhismarutisuzukiswiftvdi.blogspot.com,
I found this one very authentic with latest updates , with nice photographs.

Cheers

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Thanks Capt Dey for directing to a fellow long distance enthusiast. But his accounts, though fairly recent, are pre-monsoon.

[sanjayr328]

Hi

Planning to do a round trip of Pune - Kolkata - Pune this year around Oct 15th .

Overall best route seems like Pune-Jalna-Amravati-Nagpur-Raipur-Sambalpur-Kolkata.

Plan to stop in Nagpur and Sambalpur. I see that some of us have already made the trip, i havent gone down this road yet , family & friends have started giving me strange looks already (oh no, here he goes again )

Am looking for inputs on road conditions, needless to say some stretches will be bad, especially now with monsoons etc - but i will be grateful for some experienced input..

Thanks
Sanjay

[Wimwian]

Hi,

I would be driving from Raipur to Kolkata around mid-Nov. What would be the best place to stay overnight enroute? Sambalpur is good, but that's only 300 odd kms from Raipur... I was hoping to cover some more distance on Day 1. That said, Orissa (post sambalpur) and Bihar are known to be unsafe in the night. Not sure where to make the night-halt.

Also, any info on road conditions post monsoon would be most appreciated. Last December, NH6 was in a pathetic condition for more than 100 kms after Raipur. Work on the E-W corridor was going on though, I'm hopeful some of that would've been completed by now.

Thanks
Wim

[hvkumar]

I have stayed in Keonjhar, which is the only other large town after Sambalpur. Road is quite lonely between CG border (Saraipalli) and Sambalpur, and a little hilly down to Keonjhar. Plus, the road leading to Kharagpur from the JH border (Jamshola-Kharagpur) is said to be unsafe.

NH6 between Raipur-Nagpur (the other side) was good 10 days ago. No idea about the road to Sambalpur - sometime ago, it was reported that the road was very bad in the OR side.

The E-W corridor is not on NH6, but widening work is going on in MH between Nagpur and CG border, without any mess or disruption.

[Wimwian]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I have stayed in Keonjhar, which is the only other large town after Sambalpur. Road is quite lonely between CG border (Saraipalli) and Sambalpur, and a little hilly down to Keonjhar. Plus, the road leading to Kharagpur from the JH border (Jamshola-Kharagpur) is said to be unsafe.

NH6 between Raipur-Nagpur (the other side) was good 10 days ago. No idea about the road to Sambalpur - sometime ago, it was reported that the road was very bad in the OR side.

The E-W corridor is not on NH6, but widening work is going on in MH between Nagpur and CG border, without any mess or disruption.

Many thanks HVK. How big a town is Keonjhar... as in, what kind of acco can I expect? Are there any govt. circuit houses / guest houses?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Wimwian

Many thanks HVK. How big a town is Keonjhar... as in, what kind of acco can I expect? Are there any govt. circuit houses / guest houses?

District headquarters, you have the usual budget lodges and small hotels, nothing great.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Wimwian, please keep a log of the trip and share it with us including your comments on road conditions, streetside facilities etc. I am keen to know about this stretch. I think Banobashi's cousin is doing this stretch right now. You could perhaps speak to him once he gets back for the latest dope. But he is not a member here I suppose.

[Wimwian]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Wimwian, please keep a log of the trip and share it with us including your comments on road conditions, streetside facilities etc. I am keen to know about this stretch. I think Banobashi's cousin is doing this stretch right now. You could perhaps speak to him once he gets back for the latest dope. But he is not a member here I suppose.

Thanks Sudipto da. I'll definitely try and keep a detailed log of the trip... maybe some pictures too

I'll get in touch with Banobashi, would love to get a first hand report on the current road conditions. All the info available here, and for that matter elsewhere, is pre-monsoon. Post-monsoon is anybody's guess.

Wim

[sanjayr328]

Hopefully those of you planning to make the trip see this in time.. this is how it is

Pune - Aurangabad - Nagpur - 720 odd kms - Roads 90% good
Nagpur - Raipur - mostly good, except for a few patches
Raipur - Sambalpur - mostly bad, disaster is a closer word, mostly in Orissa, my wife started calling it the lunar surface which gelled well with the full moon (purnima) that was on at the time.
Sambalpur - Keonjhar - even though this is a 220 kms trip , it takes about 7 hours, unless u are brave / have a really tough vehicle / dont care much about your tyres or suspension much. there are some good bits as well, but they disintegrate pretty quickly and hence you cant average good speeds throughout, get to keonjhar before dark if you can, the roads are full of iron ore carrying dumpers who drive like mad max.

Keonjhar has a good hotel, A/C and everything, just as you are about to enter town Sreekhetro International - with parking inside.

It might be worthwhile getting your air cleaner cleaned before you set off further, it will be choked by the time you get through Sambalpur and Keonjhar. Orissa roads used to be great even a few years back , but these are really really bad.

Keonjhar - Kolkata - 350 odd kms , not good until the border between Orissa, Jharkhand & WB , and then it feels like you have landed in Mars, we did this stretch when JH was Bihar and after 8 odd years, it still is the same ( and the Govts here wonder why they dont get investment and why rural people suffer, tragic stuff, India shining indeed) .

Things get very very good when u get into WB and hit the expressway all the way to Cal, u can avg good speeds here and the car feels like a car again..

Point to note and i did note is the reason why Boleros are selling so well, you will see endless Boleros throughout the bad stretches in Orissa and going pretty fast, tough vehicles for a tough land i guess.

So, on the way back, i am giving Orissa & MP a miss, not worth it. So, planning to take the GQ to Vijawada and then to Hyd and then to Pune - does anyone know how that is ? Hyd to Pune is good and is now four laned, but the rest ?

My two year old Indigo LX didnt miss a beat but for clamps getting loose at the bottom, which the dealer at Sambalpur was happy to fix. Suspension is pretty tough as i have seen in the past, though i fear the shocks took a big hit as the boot had a fair bit of luggage. The alloys give you a hard ride, but the Bridgestone Turanzas worked very well in spite of nicks and cuts and it looked like the nitrogen helped keep things cool inspite of bad roads and braking.. no punctures either.

Good luck folks. Happy driving in Orissa, hopefully u have a Bolero

Regards
Sanjay

[Wimwian]

The Raipur to Kolkata trip is finally happening. Had briefly considered shipping the car, since the reports on road conditions were not very positive. However, the allure of a road trip was too great to give a miss, so finally decided to risk it. Will be setting out on 26th Nov with my parents. Plan to take the Sambalpur-Keojhar-Kharagpur-Kolkata route (NH6). Would really appreciate some updates on road conditions, if any...

Originally Posted by sanjayr328

Hopefully those of you planning to make the trip see this in time.. this is how it is

Many thanks, Sanjay. This was really helpful.

Originally Posted by sanjayr328

Raipur - Sambalpur - mostly bad, disaster is a closer word, mostly in Orissa, my wife started calling it the lunar surface which gelled well with the full moon (purnima) that was on at the time.

Sambalpur - Keonjhar - even though this is a 220 kms trip , it takes about 7 hours, unless u are brave / have a really tough vehicle / dont care much about your tyres or suspension much. there are some good bits as well, but they disintegrate pretty quickly and hence you cant average good speeds throughout, get to keonjhar before dark if you can, the roads are full of iron ore carrying dumpers who drive like mad max.

This sounds really really ominous! How long did it take you from Raipur to Sambalpur.... 6/7 hrs or more than that? If its 9/10 hrs then I guess I'll have to reconsider spending the night at Keonjhar and stay over at Sambalpur instead. Did you drive from Raipur to Keonjhar in one day? If yes, what time did you leave Raipur?

Originally Posted by sanjayr328

Keonjhar - Kolkata - 350 odd kms , not good until the border between Orissa, Jharkhand & WB , and then it feels like you have landed in Mars, we did this stretch when JH was Bihar and after 8 odd years, it still is the same ( and the Govts here wonder why they dont get investment and why rural people suffer, tragic stuff, India shining indeed) .

Things get very very good when u get into WB and hit the expressway all the way to Cal, u can avg good speeds here and the car feels like a car again..

This should be much easier than the Raipur-Keonjhar stretch. If I manage to reach Keonjhar on the first day, I can perhaps afford to start a little late on the next.

Also, which places do you suggest for lunch and tea breaks? Is travelling through Orissa safe? One of the Kolkata team bhp guys had a bad experience recently in Orissa - cops seem to be stopping cars and asking for 6 month road tax payment inspite of producing toll tax and fuel receipts. Did you face something like this?

@HVK - I'm hoping you have some road updates for me

Cheers
Wim

[hvkumar]

Wim,

Unfortunately, I have no updates on the current road condition, you are going to give us the breaking news! But repair must have started/ completed in Orissa - post-rain repairs were already on 1 month ago on NH5, so NH6 will not be far behind.

Safety on roads is not an issue, but facilities are very poor, hence try to stick to driving only during daytime. Remember to avoid the Baharogara-Kharagpur stretch on NH6 after dark, since it is supposed to be a dacoity zone.

Don't worry about the cops - unless you get into some rough talk with them, being a private vehicle, you won't be harassed.

[sanjayr328]

Hi

Apologies , i saw this a little late, Raipur to Sambalpur took around 8 hours if i remember right, the thing is the human mind tends to dull the nightmares quickly so that you get to sleep at night..hopefully they have done some repairs by now, but i wont count on it. Considering that you don't have to come back , go ! drive in the day time, don't bother hurrying and enjoy the forests in Orissa.

Regards
Sanjay

---------------------------------
Getting there safely is more important than getting there fast.

[IndianNomad]

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

NH6 - linky - photobucket

I think in the above picture of map the locations of Bijapur and Bagalkot have been interchanged.