| Re: Hyderabad-Bilaspur Route
Completed the trip a couple of days back.
Hyderabad-Nagpur road is still undergoing metamorphosis. Remarkable progress is made in the AP side of the road. From Adilabad to Hinganghat and beyond the road work has not been completed. In fact, it has not even started. Looks like the contractor has abandoned the job because the stretch remains the same as that I saw about five months earlier. If one is driving in the night, one has to be extra cautious. The unmarked diversions can be fatal as was seen in at least three accidents involving vehicles overturned into ditches, all taking place in the night. The only solace is the road surface which is smooth throughout, right from Hyderabad.
As you approach Nagpur city, you need to take right under the first flyover you encounter to join the by pass leading to Bhandara Road. One can't miss Chatrapti Chowk. About 12 km on the by pass, and you join Bhandara Road. This stretch is two-lane and full of traffic. After Bhandara you get nice 4-lane all the way to Raipur. The road starts after crossing Wainganga bridge. For the first time I saw a decent restroom on this stretch, a little after the toll booth once you cross the bridge. It is maintained by the road construction company. There are four stretches before reaching Rajnandgaon where the road passes through forest area where again the road is two-way. These stretches are only a few km each.
After Rajnandgaon, beyond Anjora you get the Durg by pass. Likewise, before Raipur, you can drive through Hirapur by pass to join NH 200. This by pass is a complete mess. Trucks and pot holes.
Something that I couldn't comprehend was the NH 200. Raipur to Bilaspur is about 110 km. Somewhere on the way NH 200 becomes NH 30. This stretch is chock-a-block with vehicles. In fact, this is the most time-consuming stretch in the entire journey. Sometimes one has to tag behind a behemoth truck crawling at 10 kmph. There is no way you can overtake any vehicle on this road. There is constant flow of trucks and other vehicles on either side. To top it there are cows. I haven't seen so many cows on any road anywhere. There are hundreds of them. They just stand on the middle of the road or cluster at one side of the road, completely oblivious of passing vehicles. Often vehicles have to veer around them. I was under the impression that drivers have a deferential attitude towards these brooding cows. This view has, however, been altered on my way back early in the morning. There were several carcasses of these animals on the road, obviously knocked down by vehicles. The drive on this stretch is akin to one of a road paved with cobbled stones. If any thing can rattle your vehicle, this stretch can. There aren't any potholes though.
Didn't go to Amarkantak. Postponed the trip due to various reasons, least of all the oppressive heat. Will do it some other time.
The toll on Hyderabad-Bilaspur route was about Rs. 378. Total distance 900 km.
Thanks to HVKumar and others who gave inputs. MapmyIndia was a valuable resource. | 
13th April 2011, 15:56
