[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by abhisheksircar

Road Tax. That's another concern of mine. Legally where all are we actually supposed to pay road tax and how much ?

No road tax for private vehicles. But some RTO officials extort money in the pretext of road tax, totally illegal.

[abhisheksircar]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

No road tax for private vehicles. But some RTO officials extort money in the pretext of road tax, totally illegal.

I had heard of the same thing too and hence specifically mentioned the term legally. As long as my phone works, guess that should not be a problem if only I am sure that it is illegal. Now that you say, guess I am covered on that

I am probably coming back this weekend to India, looking forward to this trip soon enough.

[cr4nkshaft]

Reviving an old thread. need help from Bhubaneswar/Odissa people.

I'm relocating to BBSR for about 6 months by mid-August. I shall be taking my car with me. Queries are as follows:

1. State of road between Kolkata and BBSR as of now (August 2014)?
2. Where do I have to pay entry toll to Odisha, and what's the approximate amount?
3. Do I need to pay road tax for using the car in Odisha? What's the amount?
4. How secure is on-road parking overnight in residential areas around Chandrashekarpur/Patia? I'm not getting any accommodation with in-house parking.
5. Can someone help me to find a full-furnished 1/2BHK around the IT area with car parking?

Thanks in advance!

[omar1310]

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omar1310
BHPian
Location: Mumbai Posts: 145
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Hi!

I took this road trip on 8th January 2016 from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar.

1. Alipore start time : 19:30 hours
2. Kolkata - Kharagpur bypass :- The road is good ( road condition score = 8/10, traffic score = 7/10). Kona expressway is good however it's not a express way as it passes through many villages, intersections without having a traffic free exits like true expressways , e.g Mumbai Pune Expressway). We took about 2 hours to cross Kharagpur bypass.
3. Kharagpur - Balasore :- The roads condition score is 8.5/10 to at times 9/10. Traffic situation improved as it was late night. But the road was excellent with 2-3 diversions only. We could cross Balasaore before 11:15pm.
4. Balasore - Chandikhol :- The road condition remains excellent with a score of 8.5/10 however the number of diversions are about 7-8 in the entire stretch.
5. Chandikhol - Cuttack :- The road condition is 8.5/10 with about 5-6 diversion in the entire stretch. But overall it was a good drive. Traffic was only trucks as it was mid night.

I reached Cuttack (OMP Chowk just after crossing Mahanadi Bridge) at around 02:30am. That is 7 hours drive from Kolkata at a speed which I didn't exceeded beyond 115 Kmph, but driving most of the time inside 100kmph.

Overall, it was a much relaxing drive with no surprises on the way.

Cuttack to Bhubaneswar was another 20 min at that hour.

Overall road condition score will be about 8/10 from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar. Total time taken about 7.30 hours with 30 min break. Total construction related diversions were about 15.

Key points to note : Watch out for surprise humps/ speed breakers in diversions. Also, we noticed broken down trucks with no indications or hazard signals. We also notices rare but pedestrians crossing roads, bicycle riders crossing roads in surprise stretches.

Of the total distance of 450kms, about 70% stretch is 6 lane and balance is 4 lane.

The stretch has eateries and file stations well placed.

My expert advice : Don't hurry on this road and maintain a speed of 100-110kmph. It will still take the same time even if you rush to higher speed and slow down at intersections and diversions.

Hope this helps to future travellers.

[themagicclicks]

Drove from Tollygunge, Kolkata to Bhubaneswar Master Canteen Chowk last Friday, started at 5:40 AM and reached BBSR at 1:00 PM with an 50 minutes breakfast break at Balasore, roads are excellent, the entire stretch of NH6/NH60/NH5 is at the least 4 laned, and although the toll is heavy for private vehicles ( paid a total of 530 on the onward journey and 490 on the return ), it is worth it. Other than a stretch of diversions and bumps on the return lanes of NH5 ( and one less toll booth too ) the entire stretch is super smooth, and one can easily drive at 140 kmph for long stretches and as Omar said the average speed is about 110 kmph at the least. The return journey I started at 11:45 AM and found the highway even deserted in the noon heat and reached Kolkata in even lesser time. Alipore to outskirts of Bhubaneswar took just 6 hours.