[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by arjithin

The single lane road is completely traffic free and well laid. You will hardly find one or two 2 wheelers in the whole 6 km. If anyone wants to see the capture of this road from my dash cam , let me know; i will upload to Youtube.

Thanks a lot for the details. it will be great if you could upload the video.

[narayan]

Guys
am doing Chennai - Palakkad day after tomorow. Is the usual Coimbatore L&T bypass and then onwards to Palakkad via Walayar ok ? or should I exit much earlier near near Perundurai and come via Pollachi ?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by narayan

Guys
am doing Chennai - Palakkad day after tomorow. Is the usual Coimbatore L&T bypass and then onwards to Palakkad via Walayar ok ? or should I exit much earlier near near Perundurai and come via Pollachi ?

Use the Avinashi/Mangalam/Palladam/Pollachi/Palakkad. It makes much more sense to avoid the Walayar crowd.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by DieselLover

Apologies for the back to back post. The editing time is over.
I am planning to start from Kakkanad by around 5 30 AM on 2nd April. Can I reach Top Station by 10 AM via Kothamangalam-Adimali route? The idea is to reach top station at the earliest (hoping to avoid the weekend rush) and cover the popular spots on the way like Echo point, Mattuppetty Dam etc on the way back. I would like to check in to the resort (Tea Valley near Pothamedu) after the sight seeing by around 1 30PM and enjoy the afternoon/evening at resort.

I think you can do Kakkanad - Munnar in 3 hours since you are starting at 5.30am.

Please add Kolukkumalai to itinerary, if possible. I have been to there some 10 years back and it was a wonderful place.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by narayan

Guys
am doing Chennai - Palakkad day after tomorow. Is the usual Coimbatore L&T bypass and then onwards to Palakkad via Walayar ok ? or should I exit much earlier near near Perundurai and come via Pollachi ?

On sunday afternoon, I wasted a total of about an hour at the 3 choke-points - first at Walayar, then after the bull temple where some intelligent cops have kept a chicane-like barricade setup in the guise of "checking", and then at Chavadi check post. And there are talks about a truckers' strike + blockage of Walayar check post from April 1st. At the moment, Avinashi-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad looks better

[sachinpk]

Hmm.. so the general consensus is of a possible traffic block at Walayar. My route plans have changed, I won't be proceeding to Calicut but towards Ernakulam side. Planning to leave city by 0430hours, and was just thinking about going via the highway all along. Even the L&T bye-pass, Walayar and the Chandranagar-Mannuthi route. Let us see, how this goes .

Originally Posted by silversteed

And there are talks about a truckers' strike + blockage of Walayar check post from April 1st. At the moment, Avinashi-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad looks better

I don't think a blockade is planned. The trucks would not be running on that day, or at least not cross the borders. But I don't think they would all just land up before the check posts and camp there. In the report I read last week, truck owners from TN and KL had decided to stop running the trucks.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

I don't think a blockade is planned. The trucks would not be running on that day, or at least not cross the borders. But I don't think they would all just land up before the check posts and camp there. In the report I read last week, truck owners from TN and KL had decided to stop running the trucks.

They don't have to "intentionally block" the checkpost. All they have to do is just park their gentle giants on whatever available space they can find. Some nutcase or the other driving some SUV/pseudo-SUV/hatch/sedan will decide to zoom ahead of the ensuing queue, and the result won't need further explanation

[sachinpk]

Lorry strikes start!
As per this report in Mathrubhumi (Malayalam), the truck owners have said that no truck would cross over to Kerala at the Walayar check post. Again nothing mentioned about all of them just waiting before the check post. The demand of the truck owners is that either Kerala CM, or FM should personally visit the check post and see how things are messed up there.
It is said that 3000 trucks cross Walayar each day, with 400 truck loads of vegatables alone. With Easter etc. coming up, feasts etc. would be a common occurence. Yet to figure out, how I can identify the roadblock well in advance. Plan to drive down early in the morning tomorrow.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

Yet to figure out, how I can identify the roadblock well in advance. Plan to drive down early in the morning tomorrow.

Why even take a chance when a possibility of an issue at Walayar exists ?
Just turn off towards Mangalam from the Avinashi bypass and go via Palladam-Pollachi-Kollengode-Alathur to NH47. (I read on another post about some temple festival near Nemmara so if that is on, better to avoid).

[Gokrish]

Though they may not block the traffic, just piling up of trucks in both sides of the border is enough to create an havoc. And, the strike has already started this morning. As reported by somebody here, they want CM or FM's intervention.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by NPV

Why even take a chance when a possibility of an issue at Walayar exists ?
Just turn off towards Mangalam from the Avinashi bypass and go via Palladam-Pollachi-Kollengode-Alathur to NH47. (I read on another post about some temple festival near Nemmara so if that is on, better to avoid).

Google Maps - shows this route? Is this the right one? Please confirm. I see that there is an alternate route via Nemmara & Vallangi as well. Nemmara-Vallangi Vela is the festival, and it is on 3rd April, 2015. But being a big festival the roads and the small towns would be crowded.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

Google Maps - shows this route? Is this the right one? Please confirm. I see that there is an alternate route via Nemmara & Vallangi as well

To get to Alathur and then NH47:
From Palladam, when you enter Pollachi town you will see a big junction on the right and a gradient, take this, it is a 4 lane divided concrete road. Go straight past 2 signals (Bus stand is at the second signal). After about 3Km you will see a road to left just before the forest checkpost, I think signages are all in Tamil here (going straight will take you to Palakkad!). Turn left and follow this road, there is a 90 degree turn to left and then another one immediately to right, keep following it till you hit a wide road. Turn right and proceed straight till you see an old railway line across the road. Take the left fork here and cross the tracks (the right curve will take you to Palakkad again!).
Now you're on your way to Kollengode (just keep going straight from here).
Just after you pass Kollengode town you will hit a T junction with a temple on opposite side straight ahead. Here make a right turn which will take you to Alathur through some winding roads via green fields. (Left at the T junction goes to Nemmara). You will finally reach NH 47 where you need to turn left to go towards Kuthiran/Thrissur/Mannuthy.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by NPV

You will finally reach NH 47 where you need to turn left to go towards Kuthiran/Thrissur/Mannuthy.

Thanks NPV. Have made a note of this route. Will keep looking for signals which indicate any possible road blocks at Walayar. Today's Mathrubhumi Bangalore (Printed) edition has two reports:-
1. Kerala & TN truck operators would not ply their trucks across the border tomorrow.
2. Karnataka based truck operators plan to put up a blockade. My sincere hope is that since these truck crews are neither KL or TN folks, police of both the states deal with them with an iron hand.

[naveen.raju]

Update - Cochin to Bangalore (NH47/7) - April 1st

Start Time - 4.30AM (kadavathara)
Edappally to Aluva - They close down few sections for the movement of heavy machinery. So expect lot of vehicles heading on the wrong lane.

A truck toppled at Patikad and the vehicles where lined up from Thrissur all the way to Kuthiran. The accident spot was closed and all vehicles had to take a detour. And saw a lot of this.



A single lane road converted to 4 lane and the private buses (notorious drivers) created their own off road tracks. 2 truck loads of cops finally managed to come and clear the traffic. But the damage was already done, lost exactly 2 hours here.

Vadakkencherry to Malabar hospitals (palakkad) - Patched roads and deviations.

Palakkad to Walayar - A beauty of a road. Here's one picture



All major malayalam news channels were there to cover the lorry strike. Didnt see much action and the check post was functioning as usual with no rush. Heard that many trucks are taking alternate routes now.

Walayar to Coimbatore - Nothing to report, bad as always.

After that, it's good all the way till Bangalore.

Reached - 1.30pm (home @ Frazer Town)

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Update - Cochin to Bangalore (NH47/7) - April 1st
Start Time - 4.30AM (kadavathara)
lost exactly 2 hours here.
Reached - 1.30pm (home @ Frazer Town)

inspite of losing 2 hours of early morning time, you still managed a driving duration of 7 hrs through the day (local 2 traffic on highways), from cochin to bangalore ? I assume you also had some breakfast break. Were you driving or flying low ?