Kolkata-Jamshedpur-Kolkata Travelouge: Will remember all my life....

[anisghos]

Dhanbad - Chas - Chandil - Jamshedpur is still in good condition. One of Tarak's relative travelled couple of months back and reported good roads.

Durgapur-bankura-purulia-chandil-jsr is obviously shorter and less traffic but i have some inhibitions about that stretch. I had been reported earlier that NH 60 before KGP was not in good conditions after last years monsoon. I have no news of NH 60A. I am inquiring on NH 60/60A, will update once i get to know the details...

@Tarak: If the above mentioned roads are in good conditions, your dream of driving to JSR is just a matter of time. HAHAHAHA ..

 

[samarjitdhar]

@samarjitdhar
I am also looking to get some input on Durgapur-bankura-purulia-chandil-jsr route status.

Being from jamshedpur(presently in kol), i think this route is the best bargain.

Durgapur-bankura-purulia-chandil-jsr is obviously shorter and less traffic but i have some inhibitions about that stretch. I had been reported earlier that NH 60 before KGP was not in good conditions after last years monsoon. I have no news of NH 60A. I am inquiring on NH 60/60A, will update once i get to know the details...

@Tarak: If the above mentioned roads are in good conditions, your dream of driving to JSR is just a matter of time. HAHAHAHA ..

If you are coming upto the WB border after Balarampur this is a dream drive. SH9 from Durgapur to Bankura and then NH60A is beautifully laid and is an excellent drive. I did an average of 80 and most of the times 100-120 in this stretch. But as soon as you get into Jharkhand and go towards Chandil and then Jamshedpur it is like landing in a war zone. Quite contrary to popular perception the stretch from Chandil to Jamshedpur looks like Hiroshima after the nuclear bomb was dropped . Looks like the ex Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda stole every possible paisa he could. It took me 2.5 hours to cover just 40 kms from the Jharkhand border through Chandil till my house in Jamshedpur which generally never took more than an hour. The road after Chandil till Jamshedpur is even worse. Whoever is responsible for this dereliction should be shot dead.

So it seems like going through Baharagora (NH6-Kharagpur) or coming through Chandil is kind of awash nowadays. It will take the same damned time and effort. I promised myself I will never ever drive to Jamshedpur again.

 

[anisghos]

If you are coming upto the WB border after Balarampur this is a dream drive. SH9 from Durgapur to Bankura and then NH60A is beautifully laid and is an excellent drive. I did an average of 80 and most of the times 100-120 in this stretch. But as soon as you get into Jharkhand and go towards Chandil and then Jamshedpur it is like landing in a war zone. Quite contrary to popular perception the stretch from Chandil to Jamshedpur looks like Hiroshima after the nuclear bomb was dropped . Looks like the ex Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda stole every possible paisa he could. It took me 2.5 hours to cover just 40 kms from the Jharkhand border through Chandil till my house in Jamshedpur which generally never took more than an hour. The road after Chandil till Jamshedpur is even worse. Whoever is responsible for this dereliction should be shot dead.

So it seems like going through Baharagora (NH6-Kharagpur) or coming through Chandil is kind of awash nowadays. It will take the same damned time and effort. I promised myself I will never ever drive to Jamshedpur again.

That means almost whole of NH 33 is in a big mess. Really JH roads are in a very bad state.

 

[samarjitdhar]

That means almost whole of NH 33 is in a big mess. Really JH roads are in a very bad state.

Cant say that for a fact about how it is between Chandil till Ranchi but I am guessing as bad. I wonder how people travel on this stretch. A few rides on this road and your bones would need complete replacement

During your drive through Ghatsila - Baharagora, how bad was the stretch on the return trip and for how many kms? I am thinking now returning on this stretch as it seems the time it would take would be almost the same

 

[anisghos]

Cant say that for a fact about how it is between Chandil till Ranchi but I am guessing as bad. I wonder how people travel on this stretch. A few rides on this road and your bones would need complete replacement

During your drive through Ghatsila - Baharagora, how bad was the stretch on the return trip and for how many kms? I am thinking now returning on this stretch as it seems the time it would take would be almost the same

JSR - Baharagora was also in same condition. Horrible, huge huge craters and no place to maneuver, had to get into those craters. After Baharagora it was even worse. No sight of tarmac in a stretch of 10 kms, only undulated mud slush and dirt. You can see that in the pictures. BTW, what car are you travelling in? If not an SUV, be ready to get some thuds in your cars underbelly.
Once you cross Lodhasuli, its a beauty. But remember to cross Lodhasuli at daylight. That area is very much prone to naxals/dacoits. By 4 you should reach KGP to be on the safer side.

 

[samarjitdhar]

JSR - Baharagora was also in same condition. Horrible, huge huge craters and no place to maneuver, had to get into those craters. After Baharagora it was even worse. No sight of tarmac in a stretch of 10 kms, only undulated mud slush and dirt. You can see that in the pictures. BTW, what car are you travelling in? If not an SUV, be ready to get some thuds in your cars underbelly.
Once you cross Lodhasuli, its a beauty. But remember to cross Lodhasuli at daylight. That area is very much prone to naxals/dacoits. By 4 you should reach KGP to be on the safer side.

Yes, these stretches must be crossed in SUVs. I am driving a Vento and it did get a couple of scrapes which were not bad but these were while crossing some incredibly insane humps at railway crossings. Even SUVs were having pretty huge issues driving on this road. The only option is to use some form of a land mine vehicle. I actually saw one on this route. With these kind of roads, the Maoists dont need to plant mines actually. The government has already done it for them .

I am actually thinking of removing NH33 as much as possible now on the return leg. There is a road via Bundwan-Khatra to Bankura. Though the roads are local and narrow I heard that its not broken. With some luck, I might reach Bankura quickly and from there it should be smooth sailing. Fingers crossed. BTW would you have any idea about this route?

 

[anisghos]

Samarjit, need to have a look. When are you planning to drive back?
HVK is also not sure about the roads, and he mentioned that he have never heard good things about roads going through Bishnupur. Will try to get some information as early as possible for you if i can.

 

[samarjitdhar]

Samarjit, need to have a look. When are you planning to drive back?
HVK is also not sure about the roads, and he mentioned that he have never heard good things about roads going through Bishnupur. Will try to get some information as early as possible for you if i can.

Actually planning to drive this Saturday. I have made some inquiries here and they say though road is a local one its not so terribly broken. What I experienced through the Chandil stretch till the WB border was hellish to say the least. I am sure Baharagora is just about the same. Will continue with my inquiries.

 

[Tarak]

If you are coming upto the WB border after Balarampur this is a dream drive. SH9 from Durgapur to Bankura and then NH60A is beautifully laid and is an excellent drive. I did an average of 80 and most of the times 100-120 in this stretch. But as soon as you get into Jharkhand and go towards Chandil and then Jamshedpur it is like landing in a war zone. Quite contrary to popular perception the stretch from Chandil to Jamshedpur looks like Hiroshima after the nuclear bomb was dropped . Looks like the ex Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda stole every possible paisa he could. It took me 2.5 hours to cover just 40 kms from the Jharkhand border through Chandil till my house in Jamshedpur which generally never took more than an hour. The road after Chandil till Jamshedpur is even worse. Whoever is responsible for this dereliction should be shot dead.

So it seems like going through Baharagora (NH6-Kharagpur) or coming through Chandil is kind of awash nowadays. It will take the same damned time and effort. I promised myself I will never ever drive to Jamshedpur again.

Extremely disheartened to knw the condition of roads.Always knew that chandil-jsr is not a good stretch, but did not anticipated such a poor condition.

 

[rahul4640]

Once you cross Lodhasuli, its a beauty. But remember to cross Lodhasuli at daylight. That area is very much prone to naxals/dacoits. By 4 you should reach KGP to be on the safer side.

I think the situation may have improved a little. When I was driving back to Kolkata through Lodhasuli just one month earlier, it was almost evening. There was a good amount of police and other security forces present, at least in two places, even at the hours of dusk. They did not bother to disturb the passing trucks and the cars at all but strangely were targeting all the two wheelers on this stretch and were even stopping them, possibly to look at their papers. But they waved to allow all four wheelers or even larger vehicles to move through.

 

[samarjitdhar]

Extremely disheartened to knw the condition of roads.Always knew that chandil-jsr is not a good stretch, but did not anticipated such a poor condition.

Tarak, when are you planning your trip. Since my trip has already seen some experimentation, I might as well do some more by trying to get into WB even earlier while going to Bandwan from JSR and then either take SH4 to Balarampur and Purulia which I know for a fact is a pretty good drive. Otherwise if the roads are good enough, I might take the local routes right up to Bankura.

Will post the exact route once I do this.

 

[Tarak]

Tarak, when are you planning your trip. Since my trip has already seen some experimentation, I might as well do some more by trying to get into WB even earlier while going to Bandwan from JSR and then either take SH4 to Balarampur and Purulia which I know for a fact is a pretty good drive. Otherwise if the roads are good enough, I might take the local routes right up to Bankura.

Will post the exact route once I do this.

samarjit, i have some time say around 2 months.I will wait for your feedback once you come back.

 

[samarjitdhar]

samarjit, i have some time say around 2 months.I will wait for your feedback once you come back.

Tarak, I suggest if you can avoid driving to Jamshedpur, please do that for the sake of your car and yourself. On the return leg I tried a different route avoiding NH33 completely. This route uses local roads through the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary and then the Mukutmanipur dam area which are kind of ghat roads and then to Bankura through places called Bandoan, Ranibandh & Khatra.

The car breaker roads were a lot less on this route but the route is very scenic. Another important thing is it passes through the heart of Maoist country so forget about taking it during night. About 10 kms of totally non existent roads, 20-30 km of semi-broken roads where you need to slow down intermittently and the rest of the roads in average to good condition. After you cross Bankura you can drive without batting an eyelid. I will post a mini-travelogue covering this route but I have promised myself that this was my first and last road trip to Jamshedpur.

 

[Tarak]

Tarak, I suggest if you can avoid driving to Jamshedpur, please do that for the sake of your car and yourself. On the return leg I tried a different route avoiding NH33 completely. This route uses local roads through the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary and then the Mukutmanipur dam area which are kind of ghat roads and then to Bankura through places called Bandoan, Ranibandh & Khatra.

The car breaker roads were a lot less on this route but the route is very scenic. Another important thing is it passes through the heart of Maoist country so forget about taking it during night. About 10 kms of totally non existent roads, 20-30 km of semi-broken roads where you need to slow down intermittently and the rest of the roads in average to good condition. After you cross Bankura you can drive without batting an eyelid. I will post a mini-travelogue covering this route but I have promised myself that this was my first and last road trip to Jamshedpur.

Thanks a lot dude for the report.Yes you are correct, under such conditions i am not ready to take the risk as i will be travelling with wifey and baby.
Need to wait and see if sometimes later the roads gets mended.

 

[samarjitdhar]

Thanks a lot dude for the report.Yes you are correct, under such conditions i am not ready to take the risk as i will be travelling with wifey and baby.
Need to wait and see if sometimes later the roads gets mended.

Oh then, your baby, your car and then your wifey will complain heavily in that order once you start doing the rough roads . Good you have decided to skip the idea of a road trip. As far as I can understand, the roads are not going to get any better any time soon. They are destroyed totally and NHAI have shown no signs whatsoever to repair them ever given that now Jharkhand is not under Congress rule. Although the last time Congress ruled the state they had a CM who caused a scam of unbelievable proportions. The stretch from Baharagora till Jamshedpur has been in that condition since eternity .