[dr.abhijeet]

hi every one,
i am shifting base to delhi next month and i have to to my home town i.e. Ranchi too.
SO the 1st leg of the journey , gtk to Rnc, willbe done in aug 1st week.
i have done this route 3 times in my 800 so i have a general idea.
I ll be leaving for del after 1 week or so.
My main concern is ranchi to delhi which will a unventured territory.
i plan to travel by the golden quadrilateral (DEL-KOL) NH2 highway.

so please provide with inputs of the state of the road in various parts and various other aspects worth noting.
also asking- is it feasible?

thanks in advance

[BunnyPunia]

hi doc
which route do u take for gangtok to ranchi?
u take a combo of nh34 and nh2 OR nh31 and nh33?

for ranchi to delhi, i would say the best option would be to hit nh2 at Barhi via nh33 (130kms) or hittin nh2 at dobhi via nh75 and nh99 (186kms)

2nd option looks shorter as from barhi, dobhi is 111kms.
say you leave ranchi by 6am, you should hit nh2 (dobhi)by around 10am. From dobhi, varanasi is 218kms, which should be done by 2pm. You can make Allahabad the night stop (122kms from varanasi or 526kms from Ranchi).

Next day, Allahabad to Delhi is 649kms, with relatively better roads. Dont forget to leave early , 5amish types from allahabad

total kms from ranchi : 1175

[dr.abhijeet]

@BUNNY PUNiYA: THNAKS
I generally take nh34 till moregram , from where there is a state highway which connects NH34 to NH2 then onto NH2 to dhanbad(govindpur) and then to ranchi.
once i used the nh31 nh33 combo., the roads were so bad that could not cover 200km in 1 day, that too in a lightly loaded qualis more over nh31 is not very safe IMO.

regarding the delhi trip, i m concerned about the condition of roads in eastern up/ bihar. whether i can make it to allahabad in 1 day.

[BunnyPunia]

this may help : updates as per may 31st on NH2 Welcome to NHAI

[akroy]

Originally Posted by dr.abhijeet

@BUNNY PUNiYA: THNAKS
I generally take nh34 till moregram , from where there is a state highway which connects NH34 to NH2 then onto NH2 to dhanbad(govindpur) and then to ranchi.
once i used the nh31 nh33 combo., the roads were so bad that could not cover 200km in 1 day, that too in a lightly loaded qualis more over nh31 is not very safe IMO.

, Moregram to Darjeeling More (on NH2 just before Durgapur) is an excellent state highway, it passes through Rampurhat and Siuri....
Nowadays many people in their private cars prefer that road to go to Malda and sailiguri rather than the shorter NH34 and it takes lesser (although more distance)

Abhi

[dr.abhijeet]

Originally Posted by akroy

, Moregram to Darjeeling More (on NH2 just before Durgapur) is an excellent state highway, it passes through Rampurhat and Siuri....
Nowadays many people in their private cars prefer that road to go to Malda and sailiguri rather than the shorter NH34 and it takes lesser (although more distance)

Abhi

atleast that state highway was good 2 yrs back , when i last used it to come to gangtok, i dont know the condition now. i hope monsoons have not ruined it.

regards

[akroy]

Originally Posted by dr.abhijeet

atleast that state highway was good 2 yrs back , when i last used it to come to gangtok, i dont know the condition now. i hope monsoons have not ruined it.

regards

It is good now also, I did Kolkata Siuri in 2.5 hrs flat in my Alto in 2006. My sasural is in Siuri so I can tell u that till Nalhati, Rampurhat the road is fine...Let me check with my FIL about Moregram to Nalhati part....I think it should be ok as well...

Abhi

[subbarp]

Hi,
Need to visit Allahabad from Bangalore. Taking a Bangalore to Delhi and then Delhi to Varanasi flights. Then need to take a cab to carry 7 people i comfort.

1. How long does it take to go from Varanasi to Allahabad ?
2. How safe is it at odd hours ? Recommended?
3. Any good restaurants on the way ?
4. What kind of cabs can I expect in Allahabad. Either 2 good cabs(not rickety ambassadors) or 1 large vehicle like an Innova would possibly work. Are these easily available ?

thanks

[BunnyPunia]

Originally Posted by subbarp

Hi,

1. How long does it take to go from Varanasi to Allahabad ?
2. How safe is it at odd hours ? Recommended?
3. Any good restaurants on the way ?
4. What kind of cabs can I expect in Allahabad. Either 2 good cabs(not rickety ambassadors) or 1 large vehicle like an Innova would possibly work. Are these easily available ?

thanks

1. 122kms : just over 2 hrs
2. Not too much...
4 Why dont u take a cab (innova) from Varanasi and come back in it to Varanasi too? Coz as it is you will be paying the return fare to the cab wala too

[1100D]

Hows the surface between Siliguri and Moregram. (Still cratered I guess at places). Hows the road from Dhanbad to Ranchi (I used to travel on that quite often, as Dad was in Mecon, long back and it used to be alternately good or very bad)

[dr.abhijeet]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Hows the surface between Siliguri and Moregram. (Still cratered I guess at places). Hows the road from Dhanbad to Ranchi (I used to travel on that quite often, as Dad was in Mecon, long back and it used to be alternately good or very bad)

silliguri to moregram- still cratered at places.
dhanbad to ranchi-(via ramgarh) good surface , too much traffic especially b/w ramgarh and ranchi.
this road has seen diffrent extremes of surfaces, when was the last time u used this road?

regards

[1100D]

Originally Posted by dr.abhijeet

silliguri to moregram- still cratered at places.
dhanbad to ranchi-(via ramgarh) good surface , too much traffic especially b/w ramgarh and ranchi.
this road has seen diffrent extremes of surfaces, when was the last time u used this road?

regards

That was long long back and may not qualify as an indicator of modern times, 1994 (on all these journeys, it was our 1969 Fiat).

[subbarp]

Hi,

I am back from the trip to Allahabad. Here are my observations:
The best way from Bangalore is via Varanasi(BLR->DEL, DEL->Varanasi).

From Varanasi airport, there are 2 routes - the bad road and the average road. The bad road will take you about 3 hours from Varanasi airport(called babatpur airport as well) to Allahabad. The average road goes through the Varanasi town and will take you about 4 hours because you will be stuck in Varanasi town for about 45 minutes(and route is longer as well). So pick and choose.

I figured out that it takes about 12 hours door to door from Bangalore to Allahabad and that is the best we can do.

The road conditions were surprising for me.
- if you are from Bangalore, think rules are very religiously followed in bangalore because they were not on the Varanasi -> Allahabad highway.
Both sides of the divider are good to go in any direction(I learnt this and some of my colleagues from abroad were obviously shocked).

If you are on the correct side of the road, and do not give way to a local truck or tempo, coming on the wrong side, he has the right to curse you, not you at him.

The general level of tolerance is higher as people are used to honking, vehicles passing a few millimeters from you etc. At one of the left turns in Varanasi, the cabdriver brushed somebody's shoulder. I was concerned - the cab driver was not and neither was the pedestrian. In Bangalore, that would have been a fight.

In Bangalore, we move inches close to pedestrians, in Varanasi/Allahabad, this measurement is in centimeters or millimeters.

The road conditions: They are decent on some stretches and pathetic on some others. But if you have driven aound enough around Bangalore, you would have encountered all these variants, so no cause for concern. The cause for concern would be some of the differences in driving rules
e.g. If somebody is waiting at a divider, and you are high speed, the person would still turn in front of you. People cross even highways without looking.

Thats all for now.

[hvkumar]

What safe is to drive in these parts during day, after dark? Are there incidents of extortion or highway robbery?

[skdking]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

What safe is to drive in these parts during day, after dark? Are there incidents of extortion or highway robbery?

Dear HVK,

Slightly OT.

Yesterday I happened to see a smiling photo of yours on a calendar, which was about driving in India.

Well done and keep it up.