[rahul4640]

Gentlemen,
One weekend destination you may consider is Jharkhali, very near to Sundarban. This is possibly the closest motorable place to visit the kingdom of the great Royal Bengal Tigers. The best route is to drive via Baruipur, Canning and Basanti. The road is also in great shape, except for the last six or seven KMs, which should be better negotiated with a vehicle of higher ground clearance.
I stayed at the wooden bungalow of the fisheries department, which is under the Sundarban Development Board. It has two double bedded rooms and one dormitory of three beds and booking may be done from Kolkata. The rooms have attached baths, solar lights and fans. A short two minute walk will lead you to the jetty, which gives you a stunning view of the jungles, river and the mangrove forests. Directly on the opposite side you will see the islands inhabited by the tigers. Motorised vessels are available there for a three/four hour ride to explore the creeks and the jungles. There is one watch tower in the complex, which is under the "Tiger Project" department. Fishes are very cheap and you may consider bringing back some. We were even offered a goose for the dinner. The honey collectors dock their boats nearby and you may even step on their boats to buy honey, as soon as they arrive. However, the place may not be suitable for the aged people or the ladies, as water has to be fetched for the bathroom from the adjacent tube-well. Also, there is nothing much to be done after darkness sets in, specially as there is no TV at the rooms.
I am very satisfied with my visit there this weekend and recommend this place for a brief one or two day visit. But I suggest that this place will be better visited with friends and not with families.
Regards,
Rahul Biswas

[drive_factor]

Originally Posted by AyAn!

Take the 2nd route..Durgapur Expressway is no doubt fantastic.But don't take the Raniganj route.Its messy.Take a left from DVC crossing just before Duragpur.Thats the barrage route to Bankura.Shorter and better.Nice roads.

How messy is the stretch between Raniganj to Bankura? I am looking at options to reach Siuri (WB) from Jamshedpur and this is part of my planned routing.

As I understand the road surface around those areas is usually good. Is it messy because of other reasons such as heavy traffic, unmarked spread-breakers, etc?

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by drive_factor

How messy is the stretch between Raniganj to Bankura?

Raniganj-Bankura route is now repaired and is in good condition.

Originally Posted by drive_factor

I am looking at options to reach Siuri (WB) from Jamshedpur and this is part of my planned routing.

I guess you are more likely to take the Panagarh-Moregram route, to reach Siuri, if you are coming down from the Raniganj side. This route is in nice condition, except that in some places the tar on the road surface has melted and rolled, possibly under the pressure exerted on it by the heavy vehicles, causing the ride uneven at few places. Just watch out for them.

Originally Posted by drive_factor

As I understand the road surface around those areas is usually good. Is it messy because of other reasons such as heavy traffic, unmarked spread-breakers, etc?

You got it right. The road surface is usually good. And although Moregram-Panagarh route has heavy truck traffic, speed breakers are not that much frequent.

[Sutripta]

^^^
The road passes through Ranigunj proper. And NH60 (Bankura to Ranigung) is nowhere near as good as Bankura - Durgapur. And Ranigunj - Dubrajpur is horrible.

So Bankura - Beliator - Durgapur - NH2 - Darjeeling More (Panagarh) - Ilambazar - Dubrajpur - Siuri should be the route.

Alternately, what about Jamshedpur - Dhanbad - Govindpur - Darjeeling More. (No idea of Jamshedpur - Dhanbad).

Regards
Sutripta

[sauravdc]

Alternately, what about Jamshedpur - Dhanbad - Govindpur - Darjeeling More. (No idea of Jamshedpur - Dhanbad).

Regards
Sutripta[/quote]

Sir, for Jamshedpur - Siuri the best route to take is Jamshedpur - Chandil - Purulia - Bankura - Durgapur - DarjMore - Siuri considering all factors.
Thanks

[Sutripta]

^^^
Hi,
This side road conditions I know. But am clueless about Jamshedpur - Dhanbad. Wanted to know about that. Any idea?

Regards
Sutripta

[sauravdc]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

^^^
Hi,
This side road conditions I know. But am clueless about Jamshedpur - Dhanbad. Wanted to know about that. Any idea?

Regards
Sutripta

Sir, the entire JSR - DHN stretch is 2laned. Road conditions are patchy. Till Chandil it is OK. Under the bridge in Chandil is always BAD. The Bengal stretch is a shade better. Road narrows after Purulia on Ranchi road. Turn towards Chas the road is decent. Chas to Dhanbad is wide & well paved. Occational potholes.
Thanks

[drive_factor]

Dear Sir's


Thanks for the useful information.

1. Road condition between Chandil and Balrampur in JH/WB is pathetic at the moment. I'm afraid it will be worse when monsoon is done with. Therefore, I want to avoid the Purulia route.
2. Recently I went to Patamda from Jsr and teh road condition was acceptable. From Patamda to Bankura via Banduan and Manbazar should be similar if no worse.
3. I've heard the road between Bankura to Durgapur via the barrage is excellent even right now.From Durgapur do I need to backtrack to Darjeeling more (near Panagarh) or I continue left on NH2 and then turn right at Banshra onto NH60 which will take me to Siuri via Dubrajpur.
4. Starting at 2.00pm from Jamshedpur, I will be reaching Durgapur around 6pm by whichever road I take. Is it safe to drive beyond durgapur towards Siuri after dusk? I am aiming to hit Rampurhat/Tarpith by 9.00pm for night halt. Next morning I will be driving towards Duars for a couple of days at one of the WLS and then onwards to Bhutan. This will be during the Durga Puja period.
5. For safety POV I want to avoid the Dhanbad/Chas road.

Thank you again.

[Sheel]

Hi!

The road near Seuri and up to Moregram is in a mess and is best tackled in a vehicle with a high GC.

I did the (from Purnea - Bhagalpur- Deoghar) Dumka - Seuri - Tarapeeth - Moregram - Dalkola route on 20th June.

I think it is safe to drive @ night near Seuri as there is a lot of traffic on road.

On NH 34, construction is going on (4 laning) but work would be hampered due to monsoon.

[Sutripta]

^^^
Hi,
For 1 and 2, check out
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post2750745

3: Excellent the last time I used it. That was a few months back.
Darjiling More is outskirt/ suburbs of Durgapur. Hardly any distance. (Only after crossing the barrage, take the left road which goes next to the station) The Darjiling More - Dubrajpur State Highway is infinitely preferable to NH60 to Dubrajpur. As long as you stick to the main roads, no issues for night driving.

Regards
Sutripta

PS. Sheel, he is coming from Jamshedpur. Does not have many choices when it comes to roads.

[drive_factor]

Thank you Gentlemen for the guidance.

Originally Posted by Sheel

...The road near Seuri and up to Moregram is in a mess and is best tackled in a vehicle with a high GC.

I will be driving a Scorpio. How long that 80 odd km will take to traverse ?
I also noted you went to Tarapith. That is my planned night halt. Do you have an idea on the temple hours? It is possible to have a darshan after 10pm? How are the louts/priests in the temple? Thanks.

Originally Posted by Sutripta

.. For 1 and 2, check out..

I had your excellent report as a backgrounder while preparing this routing. I will only change the route between Banduan and Bankura. It's much better to go via Manbazar rathar than Khatra.

Originally Posted by Sutripta

... The Darjiling More - Dubrajpur State Highway is infinitely preferable to NH60 to Dubrajpur.

It adds about 20 additional km to the route. Is the NH60 bad due to road surface or general law and order condition? I will stick to your recommendation. My destination for the 1st night is Tarapith. I cant start from JSR before 2.00p thus I will be traversing the Bankura – Rampurhat/Tarapith stretch between 6pm – 10pm.

Originally Posted by Sutripta

he is coming from Jamshedpur. Does not have many choices when it comes to roads.

Exactly. For last several years we are restricting our long distance driving holidays to North India because we have a good gateway to NH2 via Ranchi and Barhi from Jamshedpur. Thanks.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by drive_factor

I will be driving a Scorpio. How long that 80 odd km will take to traverse ?
I also noted you went to Tarapith. That is my planned night halt. Do you have an idea on the temple hours? It is possible to have a darshan after 10pm? How are the louts/priests in the temple? Thanks.

2.5hrs+

Dunno about Darshan after 10pm, but as the temple is dedicated to Goddess Kali, I think darshan goes well past 10, though please confirm the same

Priest scenario is the same as in Deoghar/Basukinath. Out there to rob you. We got poorer by Rs. 700 (VIP darshan & few items were being purchased for Puja) for 3 persons and that IMO is high.

Beware of beggars & don't make eye-contact.

And yes, I had the most pathetic tea near temple premises costing Rs. 10 for 50ml. It was bad that one sip was more than enough to throw away the cup.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by drive_factor

I will be driving a Scorpio. How long that 80 odd km will take to traverse ?

I took the Moregram-Siuri route, while returning to Calcutta, possibly either in late May or in early June. Only the first twenty KM or so was real bad. The rest of the road was manageable. And I drove a sedan (Tata Indigo) completely after the evening darkness had set in. I decided to follow a loaded lorry on the bad stretch and safely cleared the bad section. And there was no safety issues, although I reached Moregram at the evening at around seven and reached Panagarh almost at midnight.

Originally Posted by drive_factor

It adds about 20 additional km to the route. Is the NH60 bad due to road surface or general law and order condition?

I guess you are suggested to take the Panagrh (Darjeeling More) road because it is in better shape than NH 60. Law and order is not much of an issue in West Bengal, at least on the busy roads and you will see lots of truck traffic throughout, even at night.

[drive_factor]

Originally Posted by Sheel

2.5hrs+ ...Priest scenario ...beggars ... pathetic tea near temple ....

I had allocated 2 hours drive time for that stretch. I just hope that the monsoon doesn’t damage the road any further.

And damn those louts . I guess this is part of the package at many holy places in India.

Originally Posted by rahul4640

...I took the Moregram-Siuri route, while returning to Calcutta...

Thanks. Just to be on the same page, did you take Moregram – Nahihati – Rampurhat – Siuri – Dubrajpur – Illambazar – Panagarh route? Was that 20km bad stretch between Moregram and Naihait? You took about 5 hours to reach Panagarh from Morgram. Is it ok to assume it s about 3 hours between Panagarh – Rampurhat if the bad stretch occurred between Naihati – Morgram? Thanks.



Timings indicated by Shri Sheel and Shri rahul4640 are broadly in synch with my guesstimates. I can probably keep my projected timing ex JSR at 1.45pm, Bankura at 5.30pm, Durgapur at 6.45pm and Tarapith by10.00pm for nigh halt. Good to be assured that night driving is safe in WB.

I am building an itinerary for a trip to Doars and Bhutan during the Pujo vacation. I hope this is the right thread to keep asking these questions.


Thank you all.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by drive_factor

Just to be on the same page, did you take Moregram – Nahihati – Rampurhat – Siuri – Dubrajpur – Illambazar – Panagarh route?

Yes Sir. But it is spelled "NALHATI".

Originally Posted by drive_factor

Was that 20km bad stretch between Moregram and Naihait?

You are very much correct.

Originally Posted by drive_factor

You took about 5 hours to reach Panagarh from Morgram. Is it ok to assume it s about 3 hours between Panagarh – Rampurhat if the bad stretch occurred between Naihati – Morgram?

Just add to it another half an hour at the most, as you are taking this road for the first time and this is an undivided road. And although the road is sufficiently wide, the trucks and buses are not known to lower their high beams, which may be irritating at times.