[lapis_lazuli]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

no problem for any car, whatever be the load...no RTO or police issues anywhere...You do not have to pay any taxes or permit charges anywhere.

Thanks a lot hvkumar ji . You have passed the verdict and I am much more confident as a first timer to Kolkata!

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by lapis_lazuli

My car is UP14.
...
I posted on Kolkata Traffic Police Facebook page, which first replied that the car will be DEFINITELY seized if WB road tax not paid. On mentioning a few days stay and citing the 1 year rule, they replied TEMPORARY TAX MUST BE PAID AT CONCERNED RTO, whatever that means. Now Kolkata was just an example. What about BR, JH etc?
...
So, what exactly do you people advise?
...
SS-da, Predatorwheelz, other veterans...what does the rulebook say? Or is it comfortably silent?

In the last 10+ years that I have taken DL-registered cars to Kolkata, there has never been a single occasion when anyone has challenged me about road tax, even temporary road tax.

If challenged (in any state) please quote Section 47 of the MV Act.

[saket77]

And this is what the Act says:

Central Government Act
Section 47(1) in The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
(1) When a motor vehicle registered in one State has been kept in another State, for a period exceeding twelve months, the owner of the vehicle shall, within such period and in such form containing such particulars as may be prescribed by the Central Government, apply to the registering authority, within whose jurisdiction the vehicle then is, for the assignment of a new registration mark and shall present the certificate of registration to that registering authority: Provided that an application under this sub- section shall be accompanied--
(i) by the no objection certificate obtained under section 48, or
(ii) in a case where no such certificate has been obtained, by--
(a) the receipt obtained under sub- section (2) of section 48; or
(b) the postal acknowledgement received by the owner of the vehicle if he has sent an application in this behalf by registered post acknowledgement due to the registering authority referred to in section 48, together with a declaration that he has not received any communication from such authority refusing to grant such certificate or requiring him to comply with any direction subject to which such certificate may be granted: Provided further that, in a case where a motor vehicle is held under a hire- purchase, lease or hypothecation agreement, an application under this sub- section shall be accompanied by a no objection certificate from the person with whom such agreement has been entered into, and the provisions of section 51, so far as may be, regarding obtaining of such certificate from the person with whom such agreement has been entered into, shall apply.

Hence, one does not have to pay fr registration for at least an year while keeping a vehicle in another state than one registered in.

[sdp1975]

Crossed Panagarh at 10:30 am today and it took more than an hour. The queue of vehicles stretched several km.

I took the opposite lane in a few places .NH2 inside Panagarh is in bad shape.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Crossed Panagarh at 10:30 am today and it took more than an hour. The queue of vehicles stretched several km.

I am not sure what time you passed by this stretch but the locals told me that this traffic jam at Panagarh is usually very common incident at night. They also told me that it is the fault of the traffic police and blamed them for their inefficient traffic management. I went up to Benaras from Calcutta last week and passed by this area early in the morning, at around two O'clock. I had to waste about one hour too.

On the contrary, while returning there was absolutely no traffic jam, at around four in the afternoon. And yes, the roads at Panagarh were really bad.

[A.G.The Rambler]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

I am not sure what time you passed by this stretch but the locals told me that this traffic jam at Panagarh is usually very common incident at night. They also told me that it is the fault of the traffic police and blamed them for their inefficient traffic management. I went up to Benaras from Calcutta last week and passed by this area early in the morning, at around two O'clock. I had to waste about one hour too.

On the contrary, while returning there was absolutely no traffic jam, at around four in the afternoon. And yes, the roads at Panagarh were really bad.

With the number of times i have crossed this stretch, the best time i felt crossing this stretch is early in the morning around 5 and late afternoon around 3-4 which is generally free of traffic.

[joybhowmik]

Hi All
I am planning to finally bite the bullet! Dec 28 to Jan 12 is when I expect to do my first 'real' long distance round trip.
Here is my broad itinerary for the onward trip from Delhi
Dec 28: Start from Delhi at 7 AM sharp
Dec 28 - sometime at night: Halt at a convenient hotel at Allahabad. I am not entirely certain of being able to do Delhi - Varanasi in one day as done by SS-da and other veterans. Main reason is that I plan to travel with two kids -one would have just turned 5 years.
Dec 29 - Start Allahabad early morning - latest by 6:30 AM.
Dec 29 - Visit Sarnath, then check - in to a hotel near Varanasi Cantt Railway Station.
Then do some local sightseeing using local transport options.
Dec 30 - Early morning (preferably 7 AM or sooner start) and direct drive to Chinsurah.

I have referred HVK sir's GQ drive log for exact distances - but I think this is dated 2008. So , at that time, there was no Yamuna Expressway , and perhaps road conditions for the first leg to Allahabad were different from what they are now.

Anyone has done the Delhi -Kolkata stretch (or parts thereof) in the last 12 months? Please let me know what to look out for - especially when it comes to selecting the best route.

Sometimes, knowing of alternate bypass segments between bad stretches can mean all the difference between a drive to remember and a drive to forget!

[Rajesh Rawal]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Please let me know what to look out for - especially when it comes to selecting the best route.

Trust you have considered the fog element as well, early morning starts with fog all around will be a slow movement affair

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by Rajesh Rawal

Trust you have considered the fog element as well, early morning starts with fog all around will be a slow movement affair

Yes, fog is one of the many evils to be contended with on this journey. I would have ideally done this in Oct/Nov and avoided fog, but need to respect school calendar.
I am hoping I would be lucky with a 7 AM start, and that by the time I am well and on the way, the fog would have dispersed. However, one cannot be too sure.
The problem with a late start is that I can probably do at best 500 km/day (so a Kanpur halt). Then doing Kanpur Varanasi stretch next day , followed by rest day/sight-seeing day at Varanasi, and finally Varanasi - Chinsurah step on Day 4.

That takes away 2 days (considering the round trip). These two days are usefully spent visiting Shantiniketan with family during my sojourn in WB (Chinsura)

Hence the hopes are still alive with a 7 AM start. Let's see what the weather gods have in store.

[A.G.The Rambler]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Yes, fog is one of the many evils to be contended with on this journey. I would have ideally done this in Oct/Nov and avoided fog, but need to respect school calendar.
I am hoping I would be lucky with a 7 AM start, and that by the time I am well and on the way, the fog would have dispersed. However, one cannot be too sure.
The problem with a late start is that I can probably do at best 500 km/day (so a Kanpur halt). Then doing Kanpur Varanasi stretch next day , followed by rest day/sight-seeing day at Varanasi, and finally Varanasi - Chinsurah step on Day 4.

That takes away 2 days (considering the round trip). These two days are usefully spent visiting Shantiniketan with family during my sojourn in WB (Chinsura)

Hence the hopes are still alive with a 7 AM start. Let's see what the weather gods have in store.

7 am would be optimistic according to me as during the last week of December the fog situation is pretty bad. I have driven Delhi - Kolkata couple of times in the last week of December and it is not good in the early mornings and the late evenings. But nothing to worry, just take it case by case and enjoy your drive.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Dec 29 - Start Allahabad early morning - latest by 6:30 AM.
Dec 29 - Visit Sarnath, then check - in to a hotel near Varanasi Cantt Railway Station.Then do some local sightseeing using local transport options.
Dec 30 - Early morning (preferably 7 AM or sooner start) and direct drive to Chinsurah.

Please remember that the total stretch of road from Benaras Cant station to Saranath is in very bad shape. Although you should have less worries with your Toyota, because of your car's higher ground clearance, yet you may consider choosing the local transport options.

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Anyone has done the Delhi -Kolkata stretch (or parts thereof) in the last 12 months?

I have returned from Benaras to Calcutta on 13th of this month. And I went almost up to Allahabad. Please allow me to show a picture of me and my daughter standing beside our car.

The road (NH-2) is good in UP, Bihar and Jharkhand. In West Bengal, the Barakar-Panagarh stretch is a combination of bad patchworks and occasional potholes. In Panagarh the road is broken and is in really bad shape. But no issues after that when the four lane road reappears.
Hope this helps you anyway.

I had found this HP pump in NH-2 at this location to be really good. IIRC, this place is called Indo-American More at Durgapur. It is an ISO-9002 certified COCO pump and I have found their petrol of really nice quality.

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

In Panagarh the road is broken and is in really bad shape.

Thanks - I have heard from others on this thread that the Panagrah stretch is best done in the late afternoon, when traffic density is reduced. While I do hope to pass through between 3 pm - 5 pm when traffic is expected to ebb, there are many dependencies to make this happen.
I was looking at the map, and was thinking if someone can advise if the bypass route 14 is a better alternative to NH-2 for this stretch? I have in-circled this route in red, to visibly identify it from the blue stretch of NH-2.

[sdp1975]

I crossed Panagarh twice again this week and surprising the traffic was minimal, took around 10 mins to cross Panagarh, had to slow down only due to bad roads.

Oct 14 at around 10pm , and Oct 16 at around 9:30 am. Maybe the traffic was less because of Pujas coming to an end ?

Another thing I noticed on the Muchipara-Kolkata stretch on these 2 days was the absence of truck traffic.The cops has set up barricades and were stopping the trucks and tempos on the roadsides in long queues, don't know what was going on.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

I crossed Panagarh twice again this week and surprising the traffic was minimal, took around 10 mins to cross Panagarh, had to slow down only due to bad roads.

I heard from the waiters serving in a Dhaba at Panagarh that the traffic jam was usually a nocturnal affair and rarely seen in the day. While going to Benaras at around 00-30 AM (very early at the morning) I was stranded there for one hour or so. But when I returned during day, there was hardly any delay.

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

While I do hope to pass through between 3 pm - 5 pm when traffic is expected to ebb, there are many dependencies to make this happen. I was looking at the map, and was thinking if someone can advise if the bypass route 14 is a better alternative to NH-2 for this stretch?

IMHO it is not a good alternative. The road from Panagarh to Illambazar had few potholes resembling lunar craters, if it was not repaired recently. It is also a considerable detour. And although there are exceptions, you usually do not waste more than a hour (or slightly more) at Panagarh. Chances are even that you will find the Panagarh stretch free from any traffic bottleneck.
Difference of opinion is however solicited from other veteran members.

[sauravdc]

Dear all,

I have done this Panagarh stretch many times over the last 4 years, at various times of the day (& night). Seen this road from tatters to patch-worked to completely overhauled to broken stretches ...

Time of the day, does have a bearing on the traffic density. The longest I have taken ever is 25 mins and the least is 10 mins to do the stretch from Railway Flyover to Darjeeling More and vice versa. Having said that, however, trying to find a pattern is difficult. I would share some of my experiences, in terms of UP and DOWN directions, UP meaning from Kolkata towards Durgapur and DOWN is opposite direction.

UP direction:
In morning (8-9AM), done a most times, taken 15-20 mins.
In evening (7:30PM), done once, took 25 mins. I was at Darjeeling More @ 8.
Late daytime (12-2PM), done a few times, taken 10-15mins.

DOWN direction:
In morning (7:30 AM), done once, taken 10 mins.
Later in the day (9-11 AM), done most times, taken 10-15 mins.
Early evening (5-7 PM), done a few times, taken 15-20 mins.
Late night, (10:30 PM), done once, taken 25 mins.

All these travels have been in M800, whereby dodging was easier, and most of the times I have crossed the loooooooong queues of trucks driving on the reverse lane. Higher timings are when both lanes were choked. Then had to go to extreme left and follow the cycle (& bike) track -- possible ONLY in a M800.

My father has done this stretch with me, most of the times. He has done this with others also and his worst experience was caught in traffic for 1.5 hours in a Xylo (ha... ha... -- it cannot dodge like my M800) in UP direction.

Another thing is, 10-12 traffic is disturbed because of the daily market. Same again after 5 PM. When trucks will pile up, nobody can predict.

Only once have I stopped at Panagarh daily market for vegetable marketing (don't ask why -- ladies demanded) for almost 45 mins (11:45 AM - 12:30 PM). My observation was: a long queue of vehicles piled up for 15 mins in a "no movement" situation, suddenly starts moving at snail's pace (almost drop-by-drop style) and in a matter of 5-7 mins, the road is empty and nicely drive-able. This continues for 10 mins or so and then again one by one vehicles start piling up forming a looooong queue in no time. 15-20 mins standstill. Again, drop by drop movement continues and in a few minutes the road is empty. Timed my exit (after those 'fresh green' vegetables were bought) as per this pattern and crossed Panagarh in no time.
Incidentally, this was my slowest (end-to-end) drive to Dhanbad. Trip was with 4 persons on board my M800, Father, Mother, Wife and Self (driving) with a boot full of luggage. Started from Kolkata (Dakshineshwar area) home at 9 AM. Stopped for 'fresh kachuri and aloo-dum' at 9:05 AM near Sabedabagan, till 9:30 AM. Crossed Dankuni toll-gate around 9:45 AM. Got a flat tyre before Singur (seems, the spike had got in near the Dankuni toll gate and progressively the tyre got flatter and flatter). Stopped, unloaded the packed boot, changed to spare tyre (father & me), repacked the boot, drove off around 10:15 AM. Reached Panagarh market at 11:45 and suddenly my Mother & wife was tempted by the 'fresh green vegetables' and decided to go shopping. Father & myself waited (read: sweated) in the car. When we got 'hot' the shopping stopped and we were cooled by 'fresh green coconut' water (dab-er jal). Left Panagarh at 12:30 PM and debate ensued over having Lunch. Stopped at Durgapur City Centre, at 1 PM. Lunch was served at leisurely pace and we completed the rituals at 2 PM. Sometime between Kolkata & Durgapur, my moblie had given up network connectivity (discovered it while having lunch). Went to Benachity Vodafone Store to solve the problem. Problem did get solved, but consumed another one hour (WB and Kolkata are different telecom circles). Started from Benachity at 3 PM and drove non-stop till Dhanbad. Reached main gate of our township at 4:45, when all four of us felt 'tea-thirsty'. Had tea at local tea 'goomti' and entered Dhanbad home at 5 PM. The journey took us 8 hours (with driving time of around 4 hours 30 mins & 3 hours 30 mins of waiting).

Once, while crossing Panagarh in DOWN direction at 10:40 PM I almost got run over by a truck (I was on reverse lane) who failed to spot my tiny M800 under the headlights).

Another time, while crossing Panagarh in DOWN direction, between 5:30 - 6 PM, I was overtaken by another M800 with 5 adults and a kid on board and a boot full of overflowing luggage, just before Darjeeling More. The other M800 dodged left, right, (almost 'under' and 'over') the looooong queue of trucks. I followed suit. But, the gentleman driving the other M800 was a better driver than myself. He dodged better and soon was out of my bounds. His car was WB 06 XXXX (Kolkata regn) and with the quantity of luggage, it seemed, his destination too was Kolkata.

I could not find him throughout the rest of the journey to Kolkata!!
Hat's-off to him on his driving skills ... (considering the car was M800)

Regards,
Saurav