[meerkat]

Hello all,

I'll be relocating in a month from BLR to Siliguri. I'd very much
appreciate all your advice, tips etc. in this regard. More specifically,

1) What trustworthy movers & packers do I choose ? Like others,
I'd like to minimize the cost without sacrificing in critical things.

2) I need to take my Baleno along, and currently am planning on driving
to Siliguri. Any information, tips in this regard will be very helpful. I've
read in another thread that in NCR you don't even need to change your
registration. What's the scenario like in WB ? If I do need to change the
registration, can I hope to get part of the Karnataka road tax back ?
If so, how ?

Looking forward to your inputs. Thanks in advance.

[Zappo]

There is one good thing about registering in WB. Unlike other states WB govt does not slaughter you at one go. They won't charge you lifetime taxes as other places. They will most probably charge you a 5 years' tax which you will have to pay and renew after 5 years if you are still there.

About your query on movers and packers two most well known ones are Agrawal Packers and Leo movers and packers. Both are pretty good though they are costlier than many others.

almost 6 years back, it was possible to get part of your karnataka road tax back. be prepared to do a lot of running from pillar to post to babu, and filling forms and chalaans in triplicate. friend had done it. not sure of the situation now.

I took the easy way out,I never paid 20yrs road tax for a car that was to be driven only for 2 yrs in karnataka.

[hvkumar]

Bangalore-Siliguri is a long drive, teh route being as follows:

Bangalore-Kolar-Chitoor-renigunta-Nellore-Ongole-Vijayawada-Rajahmundry-Vizag-Srikakulam-Behrampur-Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Jaleshwar-Dantan-Kharagpur-Kolkata-Krishnanagar-Behrampur-Malda-Kishanganj-Siliguri.

Road to Nelloreis good. Frok Nellore NH5 is fantastic. Expect a little bad roads in Orissa. Kolkata-Siliguri road is good and bad in parts - narrow till Krishnagar, bad roads in Raiganj area, road widening work after Dalkola, etc.

I guess it will be a 4-day drive, assuming you drive without any major stops. Day 1 could be Rajahmundry. Day 2 Bhubaneswar. Day 3 Kolkata. Day 4 Siliguri.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by meerkat

2) I need to take my Baleno along, and currently am planning on driving
to Siliguri.

thats a fantastic idea. please let me know when you reach kolkata, if office permits I may escort you till Siliguri . After that we can have frequent intercity meets at Gangtok or Darjeeling

[amtak]

Originally Posted by meerkat

1) What trustworthy movers & packers do I choose ? Like others,
I'd like to minimize the cost without sacrificing in critical things.

I would recommend DRS Logistics (Agarwal Packers and movers). They are good. I used to use their services in my previous organization. You can also contact Crown Relocations in BLR.

[meerkat]

Thanks a lot friends, for your inputs. I'll start calling the packers and see
how it goes. Have any of you gone through this moving thing and know
the procedure ? amtak ?

About getting the Karnataka road tax back, will it at all be possible if I
can't spend much time running around in BLR ? It can't be done sitting
in a remote location, I guess.

Zappo, it sounds like re-registering is required in WB, (unlike in NCR)
right ? Shall see how it feels to be slaughtered in multiple steps :-).

BlackPearl, are you sure Darjeeling will be even accessible in future
the way it's going in the hills these days ? I hear about Siliguri also
getting included in Gorkhaland now !

hvkumar, Thanks for the info. Do you know if the BLR- Hyderabad-
Vijayawada is a reasonable alternative route ? Also, I can probably
start only in late morning or early afternoon from BLR. So for first night
stay Rajahmundry may not be possible. I don't plan to drive at night,
shall be the only driver, and am not a fast one at that. How do I know
about reasonable stopping places etc. ?

Thanks again for all your help.

[amtak]

Originally Posted by meerkat

Thanks a lot friends, for your inputs. I'll start calling the packers and see
how it goes. Have any of you gone through this moving thing and know
the procedure ? amtak ?

I used to coordinate with DRS with the help of my colleague in my previous organisation. With regards to Crown, you can call them at +91 80 2550 4127

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by meerkat

hvkumar, Thanks for the info. Do you know if the BLR- Hyderabad-
Vijayawada is a reasonable alternative route ? Also, I can probably
start only in late morning or early afternoon from BLR. So for first night
stay Rajahmundry may not be possible. I don't plan to drive at night,
shall be the only driver, and am not a fast one at that. How do I know
about reasonable stopping places etc. ?

Thanks again for all your help.

No, the NH5 route via Tirupati and Nellore to Vijayawada is preferred since it is a high-speed road. NH7 to Hyderabad is being widened, Hyderabad city navigation is avoidable and Hyd-Vijay is a congested corridor.

IN case you are unable to reachh Rajahmundry, target Vijayawada or Eluru. In all these towns, you have good budget hotels which you can drive around and find near the respective railway stations or bus stands. Towns that are good for stop overs are Vijaywada, Eluru, Rajahmundry, Vizag, SRikakulam, Bhubaneswar.

[meerkat]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

IN case you are unable to reachh Rajahmundry, target Vijayawada or Eluru. In all these towns, you have good budget hotels which you can drive around and find near the respective railway stations or bus stands. Towns that are good for stop overs are Vijaywada, Eluru, Rajahmundry, Vizag, SRikakulam, Bhubaneswar.

Thanks for the info. On this route, what's the situation like, regarding
motels etc. right on the highway ? I mean, do I have to enter a
congested town just to be able to spend the night ?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by meerkat

Thanks for the info. On this route, what's the situation like, regarding
motels etc. right on the highway ? I mean, do I have to enter a
congested town just to be able to spend the night ?

Unfortunately, yes. Most of the hotels are located inside the town area, although there may be a few on the outskirts (have not noticed any good ones). But since you will be reaching late and leaving early, nothing to worry about. Reaching railway station area is always easy, in case you wish to search for hotels to suit any budget.

[meerkat]

Any tips as to the feasibility/ possibility of avoiding major cities while
going past one ? e.g. can I avoid entering (or even going near) Kolkata
while moving on to NH-34 to north Bengal ?

Also, where can I find good, detailed road maps, if any ? Are ones similar
to US road maps available in India? I'm new to long distance driving in
India. Any tips will be very welcome. Thanks.

[hvkumar]

When going from Bangalore to Calcutta, you bypass every large town. Except that the ride through Vizag on NH5 is a little high-trafficked.

You have to drive through Calcutta to get from NH6 to NH34. But my suggestion would be to take teh Vidya Sagar Sethu (parallel to Hoogly Bridge at Howrah), link up to the Ring Road (Calcutta folks can brief you on this one), and go direct to NH34 after Dum Dum, freeing you from intense city traffic.

I have also bypassed Calcutta city once by turning off NH34 north of Calcutta (40 kms or odd), crossing the Hooghly at Kalyani and joining NH2 so that you can interlink with NH6 without entering Calcutta.

On NH34, it can be a big mess at Malda City, but I cant think of any city troubles anywhere else, except maybe in Dalkhola. Kishanganj town has moderate traffic.

Lots of good maps. Eicher Road ATlas is very comprehensive but also teh most inaccurate. Ideally, you should buy TTK maps of South India and East India which show all the States on your route. If you are looking for something more comprehensive, buy teh detailed district-wise maps of each of teh States - AP, Orissa and WB


P.S. NH6 is the road that NH5 morphes into when it reaches Calcutta.

[akroy]

Are you driving alone? In that case, if you start in the evening, you can do afull night drive to Vizag. Ask for beach Road, there are lots of hotels (I stayed in Hotel Supreme which was good)
Coming out of beach Road onto Bhimunipatnam / NH5 is straight so it can be a nice stopping point.

You can also rest in your car or hire a bed in Reliance A1 Plazas, the list is below
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ore-route.html

NOTE: pls never ever think of Blr - Hyd - Vijayawada. The time you will take in that stretch will make you reach Vizag. Hope you have already read my Blr - Kol travelogue thread. If not yet, read the entire thread will have fair idea of the stretch now.

For Kol - Siliguri route, well BP is there to guide you.

Abhi

[akroy]

Originally Posted by meerkat

Any tips as to the feasibility/ possibility of avoiding major cities while
going past one ? e.g. can I avoid entering (or even going near) Kolkata
while moving on to NH-34 to north Bengal ?

You can ByPass not only Kolkata but NH34 till Moregram. Keep going on NH6 which will automatically meet in NH2 near Dankuni.

Kol - barddhaman - Panagarh - DarjeelingMore(turn right) - Ilambazar - Siuri - Rampurhat - Takipur - Moregram and then onto NH34.

By doing this, you will bypass major cities like Krishnanagar, Shantipur, Plassey, Berhampur on NH34.

But you will be planning to stay/halt in Kolkata?
BP and others will guide you better to hotels and city route if you plan to halt there.

Abhi

NOTE: You can now hit NH2 at Bally bridge directly from DumDum right turn from airport onto NH34 (popularly known as Jessore Road there). You will hit a flyover directly onto NH2 ballybridge. it is called belghoria expressway.