[ssjr0498]

Guys, any update on the road conditions for the are marked in red (in the picture above)?

Thanks,
Shrey

[Gaddi_waala300]

Hello fellow Bhp-ians, hope you're revving safely.

I recently purchased my first car a Mahindra XUV300, P AMT and have clocked 2.5k kms in the last 3 months (thanks to the hectic work schedule & Bangalore traffic I don't get to take out my vehicle as much I would like to).

Recently I had the bright idea to take the car to my native place in West Bengal (specifically Asansol) for Durga Puja. Being a relatively new driver I'm a bit nervous of doing this distance (almost 2000 km) all by myself.
I thought what better than to post in a forum which is a haven for driving enthusiasts to get some suggestions for doing longer trips.

I got to know from my colleague that (apparently) fellow like minded Bhpians do such trips where a group of vehicles leave from Bangalore for West Bengal during Durga Puja.
I would be immensely grateful if anyone could point me towards any such groups leaving Bangalore by 13th/14th of October for West Bengal so that my car can tag along with the same. It will help me plan the trip (breaks, overnight stays, food stops etc) better also, travelling in a group for the first time will also put the mind to ease in case any untoward incident happens in the duration of the drive.

Also, I'll be all by myself in case anyone wants to hop in the ride, it's all welcome, as we'll be able to catch some much needed power naps along the drive.

Happy zoomin

[ssjr0498]

Mate, I leave on the morning of 14th to Kol! Let me know your plans!


Cheers
Shrey

Originally Posted by Gaddi_waala300

Hello fellow Bhp-ians, hope you're revving safely.

I recently purchased my first car a Mahindra XUV300, P AMT and have clocked 2.5k kms in the last 3 months (thanks to the hectic work schedule & Bangalore traffic I don't get to take out my vehicle as much I would like to).

Recently I had the bright idea to take the car to my native place in West Bengal (specifically Asansol) for Durga Puja. Being a relatively new driver I'm a bit nervous of doing this distance (almost 2000 km) all by myself.
I thought what better than to post in a forum which is a haven for driving enthusiasts to get some suggestions for doing longer trips.

I got to know from my colleague that (apparently) fellow like minded Bhpians do such trips where a group of vehicles leave from Bangalore for West Bengal during Durga Puja.
I would be immensely grateful if anyone could point me towards any such groups leaving Bangalore by 13th/14th of October for West Bengal so that my car can tag along with the same. It will help me plan the trip (breaks, overnight stays, food stops etc) better also, travelling in a group for the first time will also put the mind to ease in case any untoward incident happens in the duration of the drive.

Also, I'll be all by myself in case anyone wants to hop in the ride, it's all welcome, as we'll be able to catch some much needed power naps along the drive.

Happy zoomin

[Sidban85]

Any updates on road conditions? Thinking of travelling from Hyderabad to Kolkata for Durga Puja.

Winter Park in Vizag is pet friendly and can be 1st halt. What about next halt?

How are the roads from Vizag to say Bhubaneswar?

[ssjr0498]

My Blr-Ccu runs are always a 1 night halt at Vizag. Roads are good is what I have heard. Just want to know the road condition from Yerapadu to Naidupeta, since I will most probably not take the diversion and hit NH16 at Naidupeta!

Originally Posted by Sidban85

Any updates on road conditions? Thinking of travelling from Hyderabad to Kolkata for Durga Puja.

Winter Park in Vizag is pet friendly and can be 1st halt. What about next halt?

How are the roads from Vizag to say Bhubaneswar?

[Sidban85]

I am single driver, so I don't want to risk the 18 hours from Vizag to Kolkata in one go.

[ssjr0498]

Me too.. single driver, can't dream of my wife driving on the highway . However, for me it doesn't take 18hrs from Vizag, should be able to easily do it in about 12-14hrs at max.
However, that said, its no race, so whatever one is comfortable with, one should do! Let me know if you plan on leaving on the 14th!

Cheers
Shrey

Originally Posted by Sidban85

I am single driver, so I don't want to risk the 18 hours from Vizag to Kolkata in one go.

[pravarag]

Originally Posted by Sidban85

Any updates on road conditions? Thinking of travelling from Hyderabad to Kolkata for Durga Puja.

Winter Park in Vizag is pet friendly and can be 1st halt. What about next halt?

How are the roads from Vizag to say Bhubaneswar?

I covered Bangalore to Kolkata this past weekend. Except the road connecting Tirupathi to NH16, it was a very smooth drive via Vizag till Bhubaneshwar. But roads in Orissa are not that great, especially the stretch from Bhubaneshway till Kharagpur. Once you enter WB, it's again a pleasent drive till Kolkata.

I covered this entire stretch in 3 days with halts in Vizag and Bhubaneshwar. I travelled with family and my Dog. I would suggest, to start early in the day to avoid loading vehicles and truck traffic in the eveings and late evenings.

[ssjr0498]

Hello,

did you continue straight till Naidupeta before hitting the NH 16 or did you take the diversion (left) from Yerapadu and joined NH16 at Gudur!

Thanks

Originally Posted by pravarag

I covered Bangalore to Kolkata this past weekend. Except the road connecting Tirupathi to NH16, it was a very smooth drive via Vizag till Bhubaneshwar. But roads in Orissa are not that great, especially the stretch from Bhubaneshway till Kharagpur. Once you enter WB, it's again a pleasent drive till Kolkata.

I covered this entire stretch in 3 days with halts in Vizag and Bhubaneshwar. I travelled with family and my Dog. I would suggest, to start early in the day to avoid loading vehicles and truck traffic in the eveings and late evenings.

[pravarag]

Originally Posted by ssjr0498

Hello,

did you continue straight till Naidupeta before hitting the NH 16 or did you take the diversion (left) from Yerapadu and joined NH16 at Gudur!

Thanks

This bad stretch that I mentioned was from Tirupati to Chennuru. I remember blindly following GMaps on that route and took Venkatagiri -> Gudur -> NH16 thenafter.

[ssjr0498]

Thanks for the update! How was the Venkatagiri-Gudur road?

Originally Posted by pravarag

This bad stretch that I mentioned was from Tirupati to Chennuru. I remember blindly following GMaps on that route and took Venkatagiri -> Gudur -> NH16 thenafter.

[A_Basu]

Thought I'll put this down here. I drove home (Alld) yesterday from Bhubaneswar, so I can advise on the road conditions on this route between Bbsr and Kharagpur.

Observation: The cattle problem has reached alarming proportions in Odisha. They're no longer confined to the dividers; they sit on the middle lane in groups of 3 - 5 and ruminate. It's very difficult to drive fast.

Also, I scraped the car underbody at 5 places in WB, while going over those temporary speedhumps on the diversions. Mine is a low-slung hatchback (Figo 2012), so this might not be a problem for cars with higher GC.

[pravarag]

Originally Posted by ssjr0498

Thanks for the update! How was the Venkatagiri-Gudur road?

This route was manageable, not in the best shape but typical state highway. Once you are past the bad stretch from Chennur, it's not that much difficult crossing other state highways. I crossed this somewhere around 7 in the morning, so there were some early morning movers but rest was all good.

[pravarag]

Originally Posted by A_Basu

Thought I'll put this down here. I drove home (Alld) yesterday from Bhubaneswar, so I can advise on the road conditions on this route between Bbsr and Kharagpur.

Observation: The cattle problem has reached alarming proportions in Odisha. They're no longer confined to the dividers; they sit on the middle lane in groups of 3 - 5 and ruminate. It's very difficult to drive fast.

I second on this cattle problem. I was mostly driving on the left side of the road while crossing Orissa for that part. One more thing I observed and I'm not sure whether it's a correct one or not - I didn't see anyone driving past 80 KPH on the highways for almost during the entire route in Orissa. Surprisingly bus drivers were also very particular about their speed limits in Orissa.

[ssjr0498]

That is because Orissa traffic police is notorious for putting over speeding fines even if you exceed the limit by 1kmph. Some places its 80 and some 100, the speed limit banner will be in some god forsaken place which would probably be 20km before the place where you would have been shot (camera) at! Also, the interceptors will be standing at those places (perfectly hiding) where you can actually make up some time after crossing the bad patches. Normally these fines are hefty. I have received many in my previous trips to and from Kolkata.

Originally Posted by pravarag

I second on this cattle problem. I was mostly driving on the left side of the road while crossing Orissa for that part. One more thing I observed and I'm not sure whether it's a correct one or not - I didn't see anyone driving past 80 KPH on the highways for almost during the entire route in Orissa. Surprisingly bus drivers were also very particular about their speed limits in Orissa.