Wednesday 29 July 2015

Narrowest bridge on the River Ganges between Hardwar and Corbett National Park



Indian Roadie, Sharmila Mitra Bose claims that this is the narrowest river bridge on the Ganges she has ever crossed.
The GPS in their Tata Aria SUV stopped working somewhere after Hardwar, while they were going to Corbett National Park from Ambala sometime in end 2013. Her husband who was driving lost his way. They bypassed the original road and entered into a village. The villagers showed them the way ahead over this very old bridge which was not suitable for big cars and was one way only.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=636107756473470&set=gm.276147582543360&type=1&relevant_count=1

(Photo & content credit: Sharmila Mitra Bose)

Wednesday 22 July 2015

Kolkata - Tarapith - Massanjor - Trikut Parvat - Kolkata road trip by Tata Manza in July 2015

‪Indian Roadie‬ Saikat Bishnu (resident of Sodepur in the northern fringes of Kolkata) is a devotee of Tarama and Bamdev. He drives to the temple town of ‪#‎Tarapith‬ (Birbhum district, West Bengal) with his dear ones for rituals at least twice every month.
On 2017-07-15 morning, he drove with wife and infant daughter to Tarapith in his ‪Tata Manza‬.
After a night halt at the temple town, he started his drive back home from Tarapith on 2017-07-16 as early as 5am.
The couple decided to have their morning cup of tea by the Mayurakshi River at ‎Massanjor‬. They were there at Massanjor at 6.30am to spend about half an hour. With the overhead dark monsoon cloud and the freshly laid black tarmac on the straight road ahead, Saikat could not resist himself to drive to Deoghar via Dumka ‘clock tower’. He reached Trikut Hills by 9am, with ‪#‎Deoghar‬ another 15 kms away.
Saikat claims that the Massanjor – Dumka – Deoghar road is one of his favourites due to the scenic beauty (especially during the monsoons). However, he did not drive upto Deoghar town. He clicked a couple of photos at Trikut Hills (on the outskirts of Deoghar town) and took an about turn for the return journey. Trikut Hills (‪Trikut Parvat‬) to Deoghar is around 15 kms.
The nil to moderate drizzle, with the sun playing hide and seek behind the monsoon clouds turned into a downpour. For the family, it was a marvellous experience.
They were back to Massanjor by 11am, had tea and proceed towards Kolkata.
For the return drive from Trikut Hills (Trikut Parvat), it was ‪‎Dumka‬ – Massanjor - Saharakuri More – Suri – Bolpur – Guskara – Burdwan – Kolkata.
Saikat Bishnu and family reached home at Sodepur, Kolkata around 4.30pm on 2017-07-16.
Tarapith to Deoghar is 140 km. After driving about 33 kms from Tarapith to Mohammad Bazar and a very short distance of 2 – 3 kms prior to reaching Tilpara Barrage and Suri, one needs to take a right turn from ‪#‎SaharakuriMore‬ on NH60 (popularly known as the Panagarh - Morgram Highway). Massanjor is barely 23 km from Saharakuri More. Proceeding straight takes one to Dumka, Trikut Hills, Deoghar.
For the uninitiated, those travelling from Kolkata towards Dumka, Bhagalpur or Tarapith, Rampurhat or Malda, Siliguri, the Seorakhuri More is only 2 – 3 kms from Tilpara Barrage. It is the first left turn after ‪Tilpara Barrage‬ enroute to Mohammad Bazar, Tarapith.
If heading towards Burdwan, Howrah, Kolkata then after Saharakuri and another 3 kms from Tilpara Barrage and Birbhum Institute of Technology one can exit NH60 (Panagarh Morgram National Hghway), turn left, enter Suri town, cross the railway level crossing, and via Purandarpur reach Bolpur, and onwards to Guskara, Burdwan.
The condition of ‪#‎Suri‬ – Dubrajpur stretch of NH60 is simply pathetic. After reaching NH2 at Panagarh, one can get held up in the road jam for anything between 5 minutes to 2 hours.
For those travelling from Kolkata, to avoid ‎Panagarh‬ and Dubrajpur, from NH2 , take a right turn to ‪#Nababhat Shivmandir‬ (also known as ‪108 Shiv Mandir‬) and proceed through Guskara, Bhedia and onwards to Bolpur. The road is reasonably good. Then via Sriniketan More, Amar Kutir, Devagram, Parui, Purandarpur, reach Suri. Drive through Suri town, cross level crossing and then meet NH60 (Panagarh – Morgram National Highway).
From this point of Suri (where the road from Sriniketan meets NH60), Tarapith is only 45 kms. After Mollarpur flyover the first crossing is Munsuba More. Leave that. Take right turn from Amba More. Then village road start. Go through Mahula, Valian, Atlagram . Tarapith is only 7 km from Ambassador More.
However, from the same point if one drives straight on NH60 upto Rampurhat to reach Tarapith, the distance would be 60 kms.

















#RoadTrips

Monday 20 July 2015

Kolkata to Jagdalpur‬, Tirathgarh, ‪Chitrakoot & back in 3 days in July 2015 (Day-2, Day-3)

Day-2‪‎:
Indian Roadie‬, Soumitra Bhattacharjee from Kolkata checked into Atithi Inn Hotel, Jagdalpur (CG) with wife and daughter on Day 1 (2015-07-16) of his own version of solo rain drive at 6.30pm logging 1120 kms in 18 hrs.
On Day 2 (2015-07-17) at 9am he checked out of hotel at Jagdalpur and drove to ‪Tirathgarh Waterall‬, the famous eco-tourism site of ‪‎Kanger Valley National Park‬. The gushing water of ‪Mugabahar River‬ drops from a height of 300 ft. Tirathgarh Waterfall is located about 35 kms south of Jagdalpur.
At around 1pm, Soumitra checked into the luxury tents of ‪Dandami Luxury Resort‬ of ‪Chhattisgarh Tourism Board‬ at Chitrakoot besides the ‪‎Chitrakoot Waterfalls‬ located 35 kms from Jagdalpur.
The perennial ‪Indravati River‬ is known to be the origin of Chitrakoot Waterfalls. The streams of water in Chitrakoot takes a horse shoe type dimension while falling down. Having a height of around of 100 feet, Chitrakoot Waterfall is no less enticing than the world-famous Niagara falls.





















































Day-3:
On 2015-07-18 (Day 3), this roadie started his return drive back to Kolkata at around 10 am.



The return drive to Kolkata was through the same route as in Day 1, i.e. via Jagdalpur, Jeypore, Koraput, Chilakapalem, Srikakulam, Ichapuram (Andhra Pradesh), Brahmapur (Orissa), Rambha, Khurda, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Balasore, Kharagpur.
Dinner on Day 3 (2015-07-18) was at Rambha.
Soumitra drove throughout the night while it poured outside.
At 6.30am on 2015-07-19, Soumitra and his family reached their home in north Kolkata.
Barring a tyre puncture at Rambha, there were no untoward incidents during the entire drive of approximately 2400 kms in a little over 3 days.

(Photo & content credit: Soumitra Bhattacharjee. Additional inputs by: Deep Banerjee)

Sunday 19 July 2015

Kolkata to Jagdalpur‬, Tirathgarh, ‪Chitrakoot & back in 3 days in July 2015 (Day-1)

Day-1‪‎:
IndianRoadie‬, Soumitra Bhattacharjee left Kolkata with wife and daughter in his ‪‎MahindraScorpio‬ on 16th July 2015 post midnight at 12.30am for a 3 days drive to ‪‎Jagdalpur‬ & ‪Chitrakoot‬ (Chhattisgarh‬) for his own version of a solo rain drive.
He drove on NH6 upto Kharagpur, NH60 upto Balasore and NH5 upto Bhubaneswar.
He reportedly stopped for breakfast at Bhubaneswar at 7am.
After breakfast he drove on NH5 past Khurda, Barkul, Ganjam, Brahmapur, Ichapuram, Elluru, Srikakulam and a further 12 kms south upto Chilakapalem, before turning right to exit NH5 and enter Andhra Pradesh SH36.
Soumitra drove on AP SH36 which merged into NH43 at the Ramabhadrapuram junction.
From Ramabhadrapuram, he drove on NH43 via Sunabeda, Koraput, Jeypore and right upto Jagdalpur.
For the uninitiated, Sunabeda, Koraput, Jeypore are in Odisha and became famous from the late 1980s after the huge investments which were made by the Govt of India while setting up National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO).
Soumitra & family stopped for a late lunch near Koraput at 4.30pm.
He had to drive through blinding rains for a little over an hour upto Jagdalpur.
Reached Jagdalpur around 6.30pm and checked into Atithi Inn Hotel, near Railway Station & New Bus Stand (Tariff: Rs.800 for AC rooms & Rs.600 for non-AC Deluxe rooms).
Indicative distances (vide Google maps):
Srikakulam bypass on NH5 - Chilakapalem on NH5 = 15 kms,
Chilakapalem - Ramabhadrapuram junction = 75 kms,
Ramabhadrapuram - Koraput = 100 kms,
Koraput - Jeypore = 25 kms,
Jeypore - Jagdalpur = 85 kms.
Except for about 30 kms of rough patches on AP SH36 and on NH43, the stretch has very good road surface. However, the entire distance from Chilakapalem to Jagdalpur is double lane.
Ghat section on NH43 = 60 kms approx.
Day 1 (2015-07-16), actual distance driven from residence in Kolkata to Jagdalpur = 1120 kms in 18 hours.
Indian Roadie fans from ‪Chennai‬, ‪Vijaywada‬ can turn left near ‪Visakhapatnam‬ or ‪‎Vizianagram‬ to drive on ‪NH43‬ via ‪‎Araku‬.





(Photo & content credit: Soumitra Bhattacharjee. Additional inputs by: Deep Banerjee)

West Bengal countryside near Nabadwip during monsoons of 2015

The stunning beauty of ‪‎West Bengal‬ countryside during the monsoons captured by Ananda Kr Mukherjee during his journey to ‪‎Nabadwip‬ on 2015-07-11.





A very cool Indian Roadie on his perch

A small but very very cool Indian Roadie on his perch from Murshidabad to Asansol and back.
He has a very quiet and zen-ish demeanour, not at all perturbed by the enormous interest he generates.

(Photo & content credit: Sandip Samanta)

Thursday 16 July 2015

Trivandrum to Kollam beach drive via Anjengo Fort, Varkala Beach in June 2015


An amazing coastal drive from Trivandrum to Kollam, totally skipping NH47 and with lots of fantastic beaches, backwaters and very little traffic by a Fiat Punto on 13th June 2015.

Route taken: Trivandrm (Palayam) - Pettah - Chakka - Shankumugam - Veli - Thumba - St Andrews - Puthenthope - Perumathura - Muthalapozhy - Chirayinkeezhu - Anjengo Fort(Anchuthengu) - Vettoor - Varkala - Edava - Kappil - Paravur - Pozhikkara - Mayyanad - Thanni - Eravipuram - Kollam Beach - Kollam Port. (Please refer to https://goo.gl/maps/BQAJx)

Beaches/Attractions covered:
1. Shangumugam Beach
2. Veli Beach (glimpse from the bridge)
3. Muthalapozhy Beach/Backwaters
4. Anathalavattom Beach
5. Anjengo Fort
6. Aaliyirakkm beach
7. Varakala Papanasam beach
8. Varkala Hiltop/ Helpad
9. Kappil Beach/ Back waters
10. Pozhikara Beach/ Backwaters
11. Mayyanad Beach/ Backwaters (Paravur Lake)
12. Eravipuram Beach
13. Kollam Beach
14. Kollam Harbour

Timings (With breaks for clicking photos at many places):
Trivandrum Palayam – 11:18 AM
Chakka bypass – 11:27 AM
Shankumugam beach – 11:32 AM
Veli bridge – 11:50 AM
Station Kadavu – 12 noon
Puthenthope – 12:06 PM
Perumathura – 12:20 PM
Muthalapozhy – 12:23 PM
Chirayinkeezhu – 1:05 PM
Aanathalavattom – 1:10 PM
Anjego fort – 1:15 PM
Anchuthengu – 1:17 PM
Mampally – 1:20 PM
Aaliyirakkm beach - 1:35 PM
Varkala Papanasam beach – 1:50 PM
Varkala Helipad/Hilltop – 1:56 PM
Edava – 2:07 PM
Kappil – 2:14 PM
Paravur - 2:29 PM (Lunch for 20 minutes)
Pozhikkara – 2:51 PM
Mayyanad beach – 3:01 PM
Eravipuram beach – 3:17 PM
Kollam Beach – 3:27 PM
Kollam port – 3:30 PM

Road/ Traffic conditions:
Trivandrum (Palayam) to Shankumugam – Excellent road with moderate traffic.

Shankumugam to Perumathura – Thanks to the Games Village at Menamkulam, roads are butter smooth now all the way upto St Andrews. Butter smooth new tarmac ends there still the road continues to be good till Puthenthope. Between Puthenthope and Perumathura there are multiple bad patches. Road condition in this area can be considered as average. Very little traffic in this area.

Perumathura to Chirayinkeezhu – Roads are excellent and scenic between Perumathura and Azhoor. Azhoor to Manjadimoodu has good roads, the railway gate at Manjadimoodu was closed due to some work, so we took a detour thorugh Muttapalam road to reach Korani-Chirayinkeezhu road at Mudapuram. Mudapuram to Chirayinkeezhu road is in very good condition. Moderate traffic between Mudapuram and Chirayinkeezhu.

Chirayinkeezhu to Anchuthengu - Anathalavattom beach road has 3-4 really bad patches. The Poothura-Anathavalavattom-Anchuthengu road is narrow with frequent speedbreakers and some bad patches. The Anjengo fort was closed, so we clicked some photos from outside. Traffic is very less in this sector.

Anchuthengu to Varkala – Anchuthengu - Vettoor - Varakala roads are good and you can see the difference of entering a famous tourist destination. Traffic was moderate as it was noon time. Roads to Papanasam beach and helipad are really good.

Varkala to Kappil – Excellent roads with less traffic. Got stuck in railway gate near Edava for 7 minutes.

Kappil to Paravur – Roads with mixed condition in this section. Decent roads with 3-4 bad patches. Traffic was moderate.

Paravur to Thanni – The roads are good till you reach the Thanni-Pozhikkara coastal road. The coastal road has mud sections for next 1.2 kms (https://goo.gl/maps/R54xc). But wait a minute, this road goes between the Sea and the backwaters; you will end up forgetting the road conditions. Once you cross this section roads are good all the way upto Thanni junction.

Thanni to Kollam beach – Thanni-Eravipuram beach road also have lots of bad sections. Still as the beach gives constant company on our left side, we enjoyed the drive. The traffic was moderate.



















































































































(Photo & Content credit: Deepak Erancheri)