[Rajeevraj]

Hi all
Any recent update on the condition of roads on the regular bathery calicut route. I read somewhere that the freshly laid roads have broken due to the intense monsoon. Is it bad, very bad or mostly ignorable?

[FuelInjector]

We are planning to drive down to Calicut for the Independence day weekend. Can anyone comment about how the road is BLR-MYS-NANJANGUD-GUNDLUPET-BATHERI-KALPETTA-THAMARASSERY-CLT ?
ususlaly due to monsoon the road is broken. is it worth driving these days?

[binand]

Went to Calicut on Friday and returned yesterday on Sunday. Few points:

- On the way out, was stopped and thoroughly checked (luggage opened etc.) a few km shy of Malavalli. I think this was additional security for Ramzan. The cops even video recorded the whole thing. Nobody was being spared.

- NH 212 is progressively deteriorating. The Thamarassery-Calicut stretch is now significantly worse than what it was the last time I went through this route (which was in early July). It is still drivable though - small potholes, and short (couple of metres) stretches of crumbled roads). The towns are the worst - Thamarassery, Koduvally, Kundamangalam...

- There is a selection of potholes now on NH 209 too. These you can take in your stride though.

- On the way back, started from Calicut at 10:15 AM. Big mistake!

- The stretch from forest edge to Gundlupet was full of cars of Keralites enjoying the Sunday. They were striking vegetable deals, photographing themselves in the fields and generally having a good time (except some characters - like the ones in a Nano - who appeared dead drunk to me).

- Stopped at Nijaguna at Chamarajanagara for lunch. Food is average+, ambience is A-. There are lawns, kids' play area, really well-maintained toilets etc. The negative is that it is a bar, so drunken revelry can be expected. Still, the restaurant tries to separate family seating so it might not be that bad.

- Got caught in a traffic jam at the Kaveri bridge just outside Kollegal. The approach to the bridge was piled up for a km or so. Initially I thought it was an accident - but then realized that it is the bridge. Seems to me that two wide vehicles (maybe a bus and a traveller-type) entered the bridge and couldn't pass each other; and by the time they realized this the line had extended. By then true to KA tradition, all available square inches on both sides of the bridge were occupied by sundry vehicles - so nobody could move forward or backward. Lost about 2 hours here.

- Halfway through the jam, struck up a conversation with a family going the other way in a KL vehicle. They had come to Bangalore to visit relatives during the long weekend. They were worried if they'd make it to the border in time for closing (this was around 5:30 PM-ish). Assured them they can - it is only about 2.5 hours to the border if he cleared the jam.

- But then saw many more KL-registered vehicles further behind in the jam, who I didn't think would make it in time. These are people with kids to send to school to, offices to go to etc. I hope they widen that bridge soon (after this monsoon).

It was 9 PM by the time I reached home - near 11 hours. The big mistake I mentioned - seems to me is the plan of taking this route on a Sunday afternoon after a long weekend. The traffic was terrible.

[FuelInjector]

Originally Posted by binand

Went to Calicut on Friday and returned yesterday on Sunday. Few points:

- On the way out, was stopped and thoroughly checked (luggage opened etc.) a few km shy of Malavalli. I think this was additional security for Ramzan. The cops even video recorded the whole thing. Nobody was being spared.

Thanks a lot. Think it would be the same as it would be independence day (?). Heard that the Muthanga road is equally bad and cannot be driven more than 20kmph. would you know if thats true?

[kala]

Thanks for the update Binand.

Originally Posted by binand

On the way out, was stopped and thoroughly checked (luggage opened etc.) a few km shy of Malavalli. I think this was additional security for Ramzan. The cops even video recorded the whole thing. Nobody was being spared.

Could perhaps have been the pre-election exercise since that area is going for bye-elections in a couple of weeks. I had gone through the same in about 6-7 places during a trip just prior to the Assembly elections.

Originally Posted by binand

Got caught in a traffic jam at the Kaveri bridge just outside Kollegal. The approach to the bridge was piled up for a km or so. Initially I thought it was an accident - but then realized that it is the bridge. Seems to me that two wide vehicles (maybe a bus and a traveller-type) entered the bridge and couldn't pass each other; and by the time they realized this the line had extended. By then true to KA tradition, all available square inches on both sides of the bridge were occupied by sundry vehicles - so nobody could move forward or backward. Lost about 2 hours here.

..

It was 9 PM by the time I reached home - near 11 hours. The big mistake I mentioned - seems to me is the plan of taking this route on a Sunday afternoon after a long weekend. The traffic was terrible.

That was real bad !! Generally the traffic on those sections is so sparse that in my innumerable trips over the past 3-4 years I've never had had to wait to cross that bridge for more than half a minute. So looks like everyone is waking up to the fact that NH209 is a good alternative to SH-17, which means the lazy relaxed drive on that road may not last for too long.

[binand]

Originally Posted by FuelInjector

Thanks a lot. Think it would be the same as it would be independence day (?). Heard that the Muthanga road is equally bad and cannot be driven more than 20kmph. would you know if thats true?

The road is definitely in fantastic condition. There is a speed limit of 30 kmph within the forest which they try to enforce by way of speed breakers on the KA side (there is no such enforcement on the KL side).

Irrespective of all that, please respect the right of the fauna to live peacefully within their forest - don't overspeed, don't honk, don't play loud music, don't picnic, don't throw litter (plastic is especially dangerous), don't feed the animals, don't stop for photos/nature calls etc.

[ampere]

I think its high time, they plan for 2-laning of that bridge. The govt would have been silent till now thanks to low traffic density on the NH. They need to re-sample the statistics looks like.

[FuelInjector]

Originally Posted by binand

The road is definitely in fantastic condition. There is a speed limit of 30 kmph within the forest which they try to enforce by way of speed breakers on the KA side (there is no such enforcement on the KL side).

Irrespective of all that, please respect the right of the fauna to live peacefully within their forest - don't overspeed, don't honk, don't play loud music, don't picnic, don't throw litter (plastic is especially dangerous), don't feed the animals, don't stop for photos/nature calls etc.

Can you tell me which route did you take from BLR to CLT?

Completely agree on yout point of drivingi n froest range. Live and let live!!
There have been instances when have stopped and personally picked some polybags in forest ranges.

[kala]

Originally Posted by binand

Got caught in a traffic jam at the Kaveri bridge just outside Kollegal.

Originally Posted by kala

Generally the traffic on those sections is so sparse that in my innumerable trips over the past 3-4 years I've never had had to wait to cross that bridge for more than half a minute.

Originally Posted by ampere

I think its high time, they plan for 2-laning of that bridge. The govt would have been silent till now thanks to low traffic density on the NH. They need to re-sample the statistics looks like.

I think I got slightly confused about which bridge Binand was referring to. Since he said "just outside Kollegal" I thought it was the bridge after you pass Kollegal (when going from Bangalore) and just before Uttamballi village. But on second reading realize that that one isn't over Cauvery, so Binand must have been referring to the long one near Sivanasamudram.

Yes that one is always a potential bottleneck - Since the span is quite large, widening it may be a pretty expensive option I'd think. May be they can at least put in some traffic lights making it a one-way so that it can be enforced during high traffic periods such as weekends.

[VindyWheels]

Hi,

I am also planning a trip to Calicut with family on 14th evening via Kanakpura road. Plan is to leave by 3:00pm. Return is planned for Sunday by 5:00am.

What is your suggestion on start time for both going as well as return? How is the checkpost?

Thank You

VW

Originally Posted by binand

Went to Calicut on Friday and returned yesterday on Sunday. Few points:

- On the way back, started from Calicut at 10:15 AM. Big mistake!

It was 9 PM by the time I reached home - near 11 hours. The big mistake I mentioned - seems to me is the plan of taking this route on a Sunday afternoon after a long weekend. The traffic was terrible.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by kala

Yes that one is always a potential bottleneck - Since the span is quite large, widening it may be a pretty expensive option I'd think. May be they can at least put in some traffic lights making it a one-way so that it can be enforced during high traffic periods such as weekends.

I was thinking they can make a parallelone more and divert to and fro traffic separately. And that can be achieved without halting the current traffic.

True the span is wide. But I think it would help.

[binand]

Originally Posted by FuelInjector

Can you tell me which route did you take from BLR to CLT?

I always take the NH 209 (Bangalore-Kanakapura-Kollegal-Chamarajanagar), KA SH 81 (Chamarajanagar-Gundlupet) and NH 212 (Gundlupet-Sulthan Bathery-Kalpetta-Calicut) route. This one suits my style and temperament ;-)

Originally Posted by kala

I think I got slightly confused about which bridge Binand was referring to.

Sorry, but I thought "across the Kaveri" is clear enough - the route crosses the Kaveri only once. The other bridge, across a small canal, is narrower but people don't get upset waiting for traffic to clear from the other side. There is a third narrow bridge (a culvert, really) just before Chamarajanagar when going there - one of the road lanes simply vanish here (unless you are alert, this one is dangerous too).

Originally Posted by VindyWheels

I am also planning a trip to Calicut with family on 14th evening via Kanakpura road. Plan is to leave by 3:00pm. Return is planned for Sunday by 5:00am.

In my experience, it takes between 4 - 4.5 hours from NH 209 - NICE Road junction to the forest entry point. You have about 1.5 hours to spare, which in an ideal world ought to be ample. But then there are several small towns, narrow bridges, temples, markets, bus stands etc. en route that it is a bit unpredictable. Further, you will probably need a dinner stop since you are travelling with family. All said, I think you are cutting it too fine.

As for the return: I usually start from home at 4, so that I cross the border as soon as it is opened (and the first wave of all-nighters is also done with). This brings me to Bangalore by 11 and I generally attend office on the day. But in my last trip, I got caught in a zero-visibility situation while climbing the Churam that I am re-evaluating this strategy. 5 AM should be fine though.

[FuelInjector]

In my experience, it takes between 4 - 4.5 hours from NH 209 - NICE Road junction to the forest entry point. You have about 1.5 hours to spare, which in an ideal world ought to be ample. But then there are several small towns, narrow bridges, temples, markets, bus stands etc. en route that it is a bit unpredictable. Further, you will probably need a dinner stop since you are travelling with family. All said, I think you are cutting it too fine

Am planning to leave by 5am on 15th Aug. Getting my kid to wake up is a lesser worry
as he is game for drives (thankfully) . Shall take this route proposed by you this time.

I am also planning a trip to Calicut with family on 14th evening via Kanakpura road. Plan is to leave by 3:00pm. Return is planned for Sunday by 5:00am.

@Vindy Wheels - agree with Binand. think its cutting a little close. You might want to leave couple of hours earlier (just to avoid uncertainities).

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by VindyWheels

Hi,

I am also planning a trip to Calicut with family on 14th evening via Kanakpura road. Plan is to leave by 3:00pm. Return is planned for Sunday by 5:00am.

If you are planning to 'start' from Bangalore a 3:00 PM start sufficient but as many mentioned gets bit down to wire. However if you are able to reach Kanakpura road - NICE road junction before 3.30 PM it will have fine. Also in my view it does not make much sense driving on NH 209 if it is raining. Have got stuck myself and also couple of my friends had the same experience due to fallen trees.
Iam also planning of travelling to Calicut for I -Day weekend. Onward journey will be on 15th morning (~3AM) , return journey usually starts at around 2- 3 PM on Sunday's. Based on experiences of others on last weekend I guess I should plan the return trip early this time.

[kala]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

If you are planning to 'start' from Bangalore a 3:00 PM start sufficient but as many mentioned gets bit down to wire. However if you are able to reach Kanakpura road - NICE road junction before 3.30 PM it will have fine.

It all depends on where in Bangalore he's starting from. I've started as late as 5 PM from my place (which is only 4-5 kms from NICE road/Kanakapura road junction), and managed to beat the forest closure deadline comfortably (with half an hour to spare). In my experience 3.5 hours from NICE road intersection to Gundlupet is easily doable with pretty relaxed driving (I generally do it in around 3 hrs), and from there to the checkpost it takes only about 15 minutes.

Of course all this is without accounting for any stoppages / road obstructions / traffic jams etc on the way.