[joshuakeys]

finally decided to make my road trip to bhopal on 3rd sept, would be back on 7th sept.Any more inputs, suggestions. What to do & what not to do.

[wolf_lone]

I went to Itarsi last week.... Roads have lots of pot holes in this stretch... You can safely assume that roads inside MP will be more or less like this....

After rains they get really bad due to awful quality of work...

[mobike008]

Can someone give updates of road conditions from Hyderabad to Bhopal? Anyone done this route recently?

[wolf_lone]

Itarsi - Bhopal stretch is really bad.. Brother went to Itarsi two days back....

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by wolf_lone

Itarsi - Bhopal stretch is really bad.. Brother went to Itarsi two days back....

Thanks. Bad as in what sense? Lot of potholes? Rest of the stretch if alright?

[MileCruncher]

Itarsi Bhopal section has always been bad. Too many 1/2 feet craters on the road plus too much undulations that take a trip on the suspension. The first 10 Kms out of Hoshangabad towards Itarsi is really bad

[wolf_lone]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Itarsi Bhopal section has always been bad. Too many 1/2 feet craters on the road plus too much undulations that take a trip on the suspension. The first 10 Kms out of Hoshangabad towards Itarsi is really bad

Not exactly... I went there myself last Wednesday only..

(On coming from Itarsi towards Bhopal..)

Actually Itarsi to Hoshangabad stretch is better.. though there are some potholes,... but from Hoshangabad to Budni Ghat the road is really bad.. Potholes & degraded road surface.... Then from Budni Ghat to Obeidullahganj road is decent.. few potholes (much like from Itarsi to Hoshangabad)...

Then from Obeidullaganj to Bhopal its again bad...

I think most of MP Roads are like this.... A year ago though the road was good all the way from Itarsi to Bhopal... but nobody can gaurantee quality of road construction in India especially in Madhya Pradesh...


Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please take the time to use proper punctuation as per Team-BHP rules. Avoid...typing...like...this. Thanks.

[himavanth_m]

I am planning to do a solo drive through Hyderabad - Nagpur - Bhopal - Gwalior stretch in 1st week of November. and I am planning to Halt at Bhopal for the night.
There is lot of information for Hyd - Nagpur stretch, but could not find much regarding the routes after Nagpur towards Gwalior.
I would like to know the route conditions as well as any precautions I need to take while travelling. (Like not driving in certain stretches at night, problems with cops etc). This is my first time drive through MP. That is why I am all the more concerned. Also any suggestions for budget hotels at Bhopal at night would be welcome

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

I am planning to do a solo drive through Hyderabad - Nagpur - Bhopal - Gwalior stretch in 1st week of November. and I am planning to Halt at Bhopal for the night.
There is lot of information for Hyd - Nagpur stretch, but could not find much regarding the routes after Nagpur towards Gwalior.
I would like to know the route conditions as well as any precautions I need to take while travelling. (Like not driving in certain stretches at night, problems with cops etc). This is my first time drive through MP. That is why I am all the more concerned. Also any suggestions for budget hotels at Bhopal at night would be welcome

If you leave early in the morning, its very easy to do Hyderabad - Bhopal in a day. The route would be Hyderabad - Nagpur -Betul -Itarsi - Hoshangabad - Bhopal - Shivpuri - Guna - Gwalior

Most of the Nagpur - Betul section is good but Betul - Bhopal section does have bad sections in between. Driving in the night is not a problem in terms of safety, one needs to be careful only about the potholes.
From Bhopal, further on the roads are again good so no need to worry there.

BTW which vehicle would you be doing the route?

[himavanth_m]

@MileCruncher: Thank you very much for the information.
I would most probably taking my swift. The safari is not yet transferred on my name from the previous owner (thanks to my busy schedule). So I might not venture into unknown places without proper papers on my name.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

@MileCruncher: Thank you very much for the information.
I would most probably taking my swift. The safari is not yet transferred on my name from the previous owner (thanks to my busy schedule). So I might not venture into unknown places without proper papers on my name.

Considering the roads in MP, I would suggest going in the Safari. Not only will your average speed be higher, it will also be safer driving in the night.

[himavanth_m]

@Milecruncher: I too would love to take my safari. However, safari is not yet registered in my name. Considering the harassment by police officers seeing other state vehicles (heard lots of stories in MP), I am a bit skeptical about taking the Safari there. Down south, I was sure that people here would listen, hence did not think twice while doing the south trips in safari. If I get enough time to complete the transfer process, there will not be a second thought about taking the Safari.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

@Milecruncher: I too would love to take my safari. However, safari is not yet registered in my name. Considering the harassment by police officers seeing other state vehicles (heard lots of stories in MP).

In my experience MP police is the least harmful. And till the time you have the copy of Form 29/30 nobody can do anything. Just keep all other papers upto date.

[mercedised]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

In my experience MP police is the least harmful.

+1. I have had alot of relatives coming right from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan.. But none of them have ever been stopped by the cops even for just a check-up. And, neither do I faced any of those issues. It's just an unfortune to be traped by some heavily corrupted cops. Yes, there are cases, but they are 90% of the time with trucks entering from other states, but that's the story in most of the Indian states for truck drivers.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

If you leave early in the morning, its very easy to do Hyderabad - Bhopal in a day. The route would be Hyderabad - Nagpur -Betul -Itarsi - Hoshangabad - Bhopal - Shivpuri - Guna - Gwalior

MC - It is going to be one LONG drive for doing in one day - the distance by this route is just shy of 1,300 kms!! Moreover, roads in MP are not all that great. I would say that planning to do this in day would be too optimistic.

Edit - Please note that I was referring to HYD-GWL. HYD-BPL is definitely doable in a day (~850 kms) but will make for a very tiring drive nevertheless.