[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by ajay_msingh

I wish to drive down to Nagercoil/ Kanyakumari on Dec 27, 2010 from Bangalore. At what time should I leave Bangalore as to proceed to have breakfast/early lunch at Madurai. Any good hotels on the highway to suit family needs.

How far is Kovalam from KK and any good restaurants to plan for a days trip around the place.

Apart from the facilities on NH7 between Hosur & Salem (A2B at Soolagiri & Dharmapuri), I can suggest ARisto Drive In restaurant 2 kms from the end of the Karur bypass and Fantasy Hotel between Dindigul & Madurai.

KOvalam is a suburb of Trivandrum, but you can turn off NH47 at Balrampuram (some 10 kms after the Amaravila checkpost in KL and crossing Neyyatinkara). From Balaramapuram, you can reach Kovalam within 10-15 kms without touching Trivandrum city.

You can check out the exact route profile - if you the patience - in the TRivandrum-Bombay sector of the log book here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?...xWclE&hl=en_GB

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Fantasy Hotel between Dindigul & Madurai.

Sir, any landmarks of this hotel? How far is it from Dindigul? On which side of the highway while heading south?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by sbraj

Sir, any landmarks of this hotel? How far is it from Dindigul? On which side of the highway while heading south?

33 kms from the third flyover in Dindigul bypass (the flyover where you turn off to Kodaikanal) - after the toll gate - or 23 kms before the new Madurai bypass begins. On left hand side as you go towards Madurai.

[verditer]

Originally Posted by sbraj

Sir, any landmarks of this hotel? How far is it from Dindigul? On which side of the highway while heading south?

I will vouch for this hotel - Fantasy Hotel before Madurai. Good food, service, toilets, parking etc. Has been there for a while now, was bigger earlier with garden restaurant but the new 4-lane highway has taken up their land to an extent, I think.
I know the location, so didn't note the distances, but keep a watch out on the left approximately 20kms before Madurai.

I did a round trip to Kanniyakumari and Tuticorin districts last Friday and Saturday 17th, 18th - started from Hosur at 1.30PM on Friday afternoon, reached Nazareth in Tuticorin district by 10PM, and next day morning drove to Panagudi and leaving from there at around 10.30AM, were back at Hosur by 6.30PM.
Nothing to report, just the usual slow downs at Thoppur ghat(speed humps), Salem(Traffic) and Samayanallu(no roads due to bridgework).

[sbraj]

Thanks HVK Sir and verditer. There is a Ghar Dhaba attached to BP fuels station before Madurai, on the right side of highway while heading south. Fantasy hotel, is it before the Ghar Dhaba or after?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by verditer

I will vouch for this hotel - Fantasy Hotel before Madurai. Good food, service, toilets, parking etc. Has been there for a while now, was bigger earlier with garden restaurant but the new 4-lane highway has taken up their land to an extent, I think.
I know the location, so didn't note the distances, but keep a watch out on the left approximately 20kms before Madurai.

Hotel Fantasy is exactly 28 kms from the beginning of the Dindigul bypass, when you are going towards Madurai. Another indication is that it is 11 kms after the toll gate that comes after crossing Dindigul. It is on the left side of the road going to Madurai.

From the hotel to the beginning of the new Madurai bypass, it is 21 kms.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by sbraj

Thanks HVK Sir and verditer. There is a Ghar Dhaba attached to BP fuels station before Madurai, on the right side of highway while heading south. Fantasy hotel, is it before the Ghar Dhaba or after?

The BPCL Ghar dhaba comes 9 kms further down after Hotel Fantasy, closer to Madurai.

[crazydrives]

Did anyone drive recently to Kanyakumari recently?
In 3 days what are the possible places we can cover in this stretch?
Be grateful if anyone can suggest the options for staying too

[asdon]

Originally Posted by crazydrives

Did anyone drive recently to Kanyakumari recently?
In 3 days what are the possible places we can cover in this stretch?
Be grateful if anyone can suggest the options for staying too

Did a Madurai trip this weekend, in 3 days, one day should be enough for Kanyakumari, on a return trip you can visit Madurai(Meenakshi Temple), I will not suggest Rameshwaram, that will be too hectic. Other's can comment what are the places on the way.

[crazydrives]

Actually we alredy went till madhurai and finished the Meenakshi temple visit
so madhurai can be excluded from the list. We were been to Srivillipittur too in that Madhurai trip itself.

[nfsfreak]

you can cover Trivandrum & kanyakumari in 3 days.

You can also consider Rameswaram - a day should be enough to visit temple (Siva temple & Ramarpaadham, Dhanushkodi - if you are interested to see a lost town).

[verditer]

Originally Posted by crazydrives

Did anyone drive recently to Kanyakumari recently?
In 3 days what are the possible places we can cover in this stretch?
Be grateful if anyone can suggest the options for staying too

Did a Hosur-Panagudi-Hosur trip last weekend. Mostly good roads except the spots mentioned in earlier posts in this thread.

[blorebuddy]

Krishnagiri toll charges are revised from 7th June. Now it is 50Rs one way. Looks like this has been handed over to a private from NHAI. Receipt is different and there is no mention of NHAI and it is mentioned as HK (Hosur Krishnagiri) Toll ways ltd.

It is a steep increase from 25Rs to 50Rs.

[nfsfreak]

Oops... 25 Rs is a steep increase indeed.

Are highway toll-booths also getting leased to private?

So far, I have only seen toll-booths on roads to certain temples or a by-pass are leased to some contractor by govt. tenders.

I thought either Govt body (like NHAI) or constructor (L & T) can only collect toll fees for the highways.

[blorebuddy]

Got some news on this matter
The Hindu : Front Page : Work on six-lane road begins

Work on six-lane road begins
R. Arivanantham


KRISHNAGIRI: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded to Reliance Infrastructure Limited a contract to widen the existing four-lane National Highway No. 7 from Bangalore to Krishnagiri (chainage 33.130 to 93.0) into a six-lane road. The project will be implemented at a cost of Rs. 925 crore on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model.
The new structure will have three major flyovers, seven minor bridges, five vehicular underpasses and eight pedestrian underpasses.
It will be implemented on Design, Build, Finance, Operate (DBFO) pattern under the phase V programme of the National Highways Development Programme as part of the Golden Quadrilateral Project of NHAI.
According to NHAI, the project should be completed in 30 months from the date of the commencement of work. NHAI officials said work on the project began from zero hours on June 7.
A separate Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called Hosur-Krishnagiri Toll Road Private Limited (HKTRL) has been established by Reliance Infrastructure Limited to implement the project. The SPV will collect toll and maintain the road for 26 years. After the expiry of 26 years it will be handed over to the government.
The Hosur-Krishnagiri toll road will have state-of-the-art Advanced Toll Management Services (ATMS) at the toll plazas to automate tolling and streamline the toll collection. Highway Toll Management System (HTMS) used on the project site will have CCTVs, speed detectors and other services to monitor traffic flow on the road. Reliance Infrastructure Limited will collect toll from the existing four-lane road and credit the proceeds to an escrow account.
These funds will be used on the basis of an escrow agreement to which NHAI is a party. The revenue generated from the toll collection cannot be used for any purpose other than for the work on the six-lane project.
NHAI officials said the toll rates were decided by the Ministry of Surface Transport through Fee Rules 2008. The company had no right to increase the toll rates, the officials said.
The rates charged would be 50 per cent over and above the existing ones, mainly because NHAI had not revised the existing rates for the last 10 years, a release from NHAI said.

This gives reason for the toll revision. Looks like the entire capital cost of building the six lane is going to be collected by the toll before it becomes operational.

Also the statement of past 10years no revision of toll charges is surprising as I remember this 4 laned road is operational from 2002 or 2003