Team-BHP - Driving towards Lalkua through Kaladungi

Let me first apologise for not having pics which i sincerely regret.

I was on my usual Businees trip towards Rudrapur and this time knowing the conditions of the roads of N.H.24 coursey rain god decided to take an alternative route.

Started off from Delhi at around 7:00 am on 26th August in my Octavia. The tank was topped up the previous evening. I Was able to cross Delhi border by around 7:45 am courtsey the traffic at Anand Vihar Red Light. I sometimes wonder why do they call this route as N.H., with the most maddening traffic at Intersections where people take right turns for Noida or Tractor Trolleys coming in the opposite directions and at times you just miss the Bulet by an inch or two (Bullets here are referred to the people appearing on the roads out of nowehere to cross over to the other side including Bikes/Scooters/Cycles). Managed to steer through and crossed the Vijay Nagar checkpost by around 8:30 am, and then i adjusted myself in the seat, gripped the steering tightly and pressed on the Gas. Reached the First Tool Booth at Ghaziabad paid Rs. 15/- as Toll and went on reached Pilkhuwa (Manufacturing Hub of Bed Sheets / Towels, etc..) and decided that on my way back would definitely buy some Bed sheets and towels for myself and family. The roads were quite good and smooth and in no time i reached Hapur By-pass and the road here again was quite good and smooth and sped on it as fast as i could as i knew that the moment i reach the end of this By-pass i would be in for my worst nightmare. Four laning of the N.H.-24 was in progress and it has been so for the past 2 or 3 years and on my every trip i am trying to locate atleast somebody who is working towards this cause. They have made the structures and left it there as it is which is adding to the misery.

Anyways, no point complaining as they never listen. Reached the Babugarh Toll Booth and paid Rs. 5 as toll. Reached Uperha, Kuchesar (the Mud Fort) and then reached Simbhaoli where there was practically no road and potholes having the size of a crater. My underbody scraped a few times:Shockked: and i cursed NHAI once again for not completing the work. Managed to pass through Simbhaoli and reached Garh (The place where we cross over the Holy river Ganges) and was really happy to see a good amount of water in the river. The roads from Garh were more or less ok with potholes here and there and i am sure that Michael Schumacher can train in India more efficiently than any other Race Tracklol:.... Finally reached Gajraula and gorged on Delicious Aloo Parantha at Bhajan Restaurant....

It was now time to move on and i cleaned up the car and started towards my destination and surprisingly the road was quite good only places where NHAI had left the construction work untouched were a real Mess like Amroha, Pakbada.... after spending a good 25 minutes in crossing Pakbada i touched the Moradabad Highway and i paid the First Toll of Rs. 15 and then after a few kilometers there is again a Toll booth where i paid Rs. 10 as toll. After reaching the end of the By-pass instead of taking a right turn towards Rampur i took a left towards Moradabad and 2 Kms down the road there is a T Junction. I took a right towards Thakurdwara from that Road... around 3 years back that road could not be called a road 'coz the road never existed and there were only potholes and potholes and potholes, but now your car moves like hot knife on butter.

Around 10 kms from the T-junction there is again a T-junction from where if you turn right you go towards Bazpur and i took that road which to my surprised eyes and suspension was fairly good with no signs of craters just small potholes here and there.... You cross villages like Tanda, Dadhiyal, etc.. and then you reach Bazpur Do-raha which is actually a Chow-raha but i don't have the slightest clue that why is it called a Do-raha:). If you take a right you go towards Rudrapur and if you take a left you go towards Kashipur, i had to take a right towards Rudrapur but then i thought i don't have any meetings today so i'll rest at my relative's place at Haldwani, so i went straight where the arrow was showing NAINITAL.

Then you reach a Town called Bazpur and after a few kms the road turns into a scenic beauty wherein you'll find forest on both sides of the road and since it was rainy season the trees were lush green. The road was very well maintained and you would find monkeys sitting on the road side waiting for visitors to stop by and offer them some food. I was so engrossed in enjoying the natural beauty (i've gone through this route various times but have never found it so beautiful) and it all came to an abrupt halt near Kaladungi where there was a long jam and i thought that i dont need this right now. I got down from the car locked it and started moving towards the front and i was petrified and happy (both at the same time) for i had known that this road has got some curves where in the rainy season the water from the mountains flows down and over these roads. There was a stream of muddy water flowing at high speed fom the mountain and going over the road. The water was Knee Deep and as we indians do not have any patience and see a road block in front of us we tend to go on the wrong side so that we can cross as soon as the road-block opens and alos knowing that the situation will be same on the other side of the Road Block.

There was a huge crowd of Two Wheelers and Cars and the Moron Pvt Bus owners who always want to reach before anyone else can and believe me each and everyone of them standing there was trying to be an engineer trying to work out the best possible solution for the situation. I was also petrified because recently my friend's baleno had taken in water on the day the rain god unleashed his fury in Gurgaon and had to get the engine re-done for about Rs. 36K. But then the only other alternative was taking a u-turn and going back 40 kms and taking the same potholed route, but that option also got closed, courtsey two bus drivers who made sure that nobody can go back by blocking the road (bringing their monsters in the wrong lane). I thought lets give it a shot and started waiting for the vehicles to move. Finally i could see that a Mahnidra Pick-up driver mustered up all his courage and decided to cross-over from the other side. He managed to pass through but he was still in knee-deep water courtsey, the truck driver who had gone on the wrong side to prove his supremacy over people like us. Then the First vehicle from our side which was also a Mahindra crossed-over and met the same fate as the road was blocked by a local pvt transport bus on the other side. Only one vehicle was passing through the water as the exact width of the road submerged under the muddy water could not be identified.

Well, slowly and steadily the traffic started moving and one vehicle at time was crossing the road and i was eagerly waiting for my turn. Finally 3 vehicles in front of me all of a sudden decided not to go ahead and i got stuck for another 25 minutes till they could take a U turn. Finally i reached the point where i had to wait for the oncoming vehicle till it passes me by and the moment came, i turned of the A/C, put the car in 1st gear and stepped on the gas and i was just thinking that no matter what i'll not stop in the water. The time i was in water i could feel that some sort of force is trying to push my car off the road and i swear had i been in the water and not moving and a little more force would have surely toppeled my car.

After clearing that stretch i felt like a king who has just added another kingdom in his list of victories and the moment i stepped out i was like What the XXXX. My entire car was covered with Muddy Water and i cursed myself for all the cleaning that i'll have to do now:Frustrati. But this was only half the job done. There was another stretch a few kilometers away which was far more dangerous than the one i had just crossed.