BHPian Aben62 recently shared this with other enthusiasts: Hi Roadies!Picking up from my previous thread ‘Pune to Gadhchiroli by Jimny’, I continued my journey in a north-east direction through Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal. Jimny was a good and reliable companion. Day 6: 28 Oct. Hemalkasa to Pakhanjur (Chhattisgarh)140 kms. 5 hours. It was a pleasant drive, for most of the distance, through the Gadhchiroli forest reserve. The road (NH130D) was single lane but there was hardly any traffic after Etapally. I crossed the border into Chhatisgarh without any hassle. The road merged with one coming from the south and trucks took over. After negotiating a tricky ghat section, I entered Pakhanjur. Reason for choosing this small town was that it appeared to be conveniently located between Hemalkasa and my next destination, Raipur. Accommodation is scarce on this stretch, but I managed to get a room at Aashirwad Lodge (AC room, Rs. 1000/). Basic stuff, good enough to spend the night with place to park Jimny in front. I took a walk to check out the eateries along the highway but found nothing to entice me to try them out. I bought bananas and eggs. After doing the laundry, I had dinner of some fruit and salad and turned in for the night. Paddy fields with pigeon pea (tur) on the bunds, Chhattisgarh. Aashirwad Lodge, PakhanjurDay 7: 29 Oct. Pakhanjur to Raipur284 kms. 7 hours. Next morning after boiling some eggs and salad veggies for the journey and some light exercise to work the kinks out of the old spine, I fired up Jimny and took to the road. Up to Dhamtari, the road condition was just average. I had to rely on google maps as the road kept taking sharp turns and merging with other roads frequently. Both Airtel and Jio were not working for part of the drive. Beyond Dhamtari there was a good Toll road. Traffic was mixed, mainly trucks, cars and two-wheelers. One thing which struck me during my long drive through the hinterlands was that in tribal areas, many women were to be seen riding scooters and bicycles both on the inner roads and highways. In other parts of the countryside the women were riding pillion with the man driving. There was a rough stretch of road at the Chhattisgarh – Jharkhand border where the police have strategically placed themselves to check the traffic. The cop who stopped me, asked me to open the doors and peered inside. Seeing my personal effects and nothing that appeared untoward or suspicious, he made some appreciative comments about Jimny and waved me on. I had decided to bypass Raipur city and spend the night at Arang which lay on the road to my next destination, Sambalpur. The bypass around Raipur was wide, smooth and beautiful with greenery all around. Then we hit a narrow road, a railway crossing and then joined with the Mumbai – Kolkata highway (AH 46). Searching on Google Maps, I had identified Hotel Kunwar Shree, Arang as a possible place to spend the night. It turned out to be a good choice. Spacious AC room (Rs. 1300), safe parking inside the premises and good restaurant. Day 8: 30 Oct. Arang to Sundergarh350 kms, 6 hours. The highway was in good condition with mixed traffic up to Bargarh (Odisha). Then we hit some heavy traffic and traffic jams. Closer to Sambalpur, I took a detour (11 kms each way) to visit the Hirakud Dam. After paying a small entrance fee, one can take the vehicle past the dam (not onto the dam), via a winding road to the Tourist place atop the hill overlooking the dam. There are viewpoints and the Gandhi Minar and a cable car. I skipped the Minar and the ropeway did not appear to be operational, so I had a cup of chai, enjoyed the view and took some photos. I was appalled at the amount of plastic garbage surrounding the place and piled up along with rotting food on the slope behind. I had leaned over the parapet wall to take a photo of the panorama when I realized that immediately below the wall there was a pile of refuse. No doubt this will be washed down / blown away on to the slope below and into the reservoir. So much for sustainable tourism. Hirakud Dam Gandhi Minar, Hirakud view point. Panorama view from Hirakud view point Passing through Sambalpur was a challenge due to the ongoing work on the flyover, moonscape stretch of road and resultant traffic jam. I had initially planned to spend the night at Sambalpur but the traffic and dust I had to encounter discouraged me and I drove straight through. Further along, driving north along the road to Rourkela, I reached Jharsuguda where I tried my luck at Hotel Orchard just off the highway. Lovely place but the only rooms available were priced at Rs. 7000/, so I decided to take advantage of the remaining daylight and drive on. This was now the Biju Expressway, an excellent (Toll) road. However, the entire stretch from Bargarh to Sambalpur to Rourkela and beyond is mining country and smokestacks sprout all over. Highly polluted. Smokestacks I drove comfortably along in the Jimny with the AC on auto till I reached Sundergarh. I spotted a nice-looking hotel below the flyover and decided to try my luck. This was Hotel Ambiance, a 3-star place with great ambiance, parking and restaurant. I took a lovely room at Rs. 2000/. In the evening, I went for a walk along the inner town road. Sundergarh is a mining town with huge 5-axel tippers lining the road. I bought some eggs and veggies for salad and returned to the hotel for a nice dinner at the restaurant. I paid the watchman Rs. 200/ to give Jimny a good wash with the garden hose, the first since leaving Pune.Day 9: 31 Oct. Sundergarh.REST DAY. Next morning, I was feeling the effects of the journey and decided to take a rest day and enjoy the food and ambiance while catching up on some work on the laptop. Day 10: 1 Nov. Sundergarh – Hazaribagh (Jharkhand)375 kms. 7 hours. Early next morning, feeling refreshed, I loaded up Jimny which was sparkling after the wash and got on to the Biju Expressway towards Rourkela. Lovely drive with light traffic. Visibility was low so I switched on the fog lights. Before reaching Rourkela, I exited the Expressway and got onto the highway to Ranchi. Bypassed Ranchi and drove on to Hazaribagh. The road was good, so I had no trouble reaching Hazaribagh before it was dark. However, heavy dark clouds warned of rain, so I checked into Hotel Geetanjali just alongside the highway at the entrance to town. Ok hotel (Rs. 2500/) with a good restaurant and safe parking in front. Day 11: 2 Nov. Hazaribagh – Purnia (Bihar)400 kms. 8 hours. Left early in the morning. The road was wet after the overnight showers and Jimny slicked along at 80 kmph, avoiding the occasional potholes and rough patches on the Toll roads. The border stretch between Koderma (Jharkhand) and Nawada (Bihar) was a killer. Narrow, rough dangerously winding road through dense forest with maniac heavy two-way traffic. I was thankful to be in Jimny which took the situation in stride, and I did not face any difficulty except to be extra careful to avoid the maniac trucks coming around the blind curves at high speed. The road led north where it reaches the river Ganga near Bakthiarpur, where it turns east and crosses the river to reach Begusarai. This is a good stretch, and the bridge is a pleasure to drive across. I could see the Ghat below, and being the auspicious day for the Hindu religion was packed with devotees. It was a beautiful sight, and I stopped Jimny on the side for a few quick photos. Simariya Bridge over River Ganga View of Simariya Ganga Ghat from the bridge Begusarai to Purnia is a narrow, heavily populated stretch of road passing through habitation and countryside. Overloaded E-rickshaws were omnipresent, along with jugaad cargo carriers, buses and trucks. Overtaking was not possible, so speed was slow. Even two and four-lane stretches were overrun with hawkers and parked vehicles. The wide dividers on the Toll road stretches were totally taken over for keeping livestock, firewood, drying clothes and other innovative uses. One must be totally vigilant to avoid humans and animals popping out of the vegetation on the divider on to the road! Finally, I reached Purnia. It was getting towards dusk, so I found a resort away from the main road with its honking traffic and checked in for the night. Grand 13 Resort, Purnia at Rs. 2100/ for a nice big room with restaurant and parking.Day 12. 3 Nov. Purnia – Alipurduar (West Bengal)310 kms. 7 hours. Early next morning, I used the garden hosepipe to wash the mud and grime from Jimny and then took the potholed and foggy road out of Purnia towards Kishanganj, heading towards Guwahati. The road crisscrosses the Bihar – West Bengal border and smooth stretches alternated with hellish moonscapes. Jimny is built for such roads. Reached Fulbari town which is a major traffic hub and probably one of the worst highways stretches I have encountered. I wonder why this crucial stretch on the ‘chicken-neck’ connecting mainland India to the north-east region is so neglected. The road was better towards Dhupgiri upto Falakata (NH 27). One feature of this highway stretch is the absence of speed bumps which have been replaced with barricades. Every few kilometers the road runs through a habitation where there is a break in the divider, white paint rumble strips, blinking red light and just to make extra sure, barricades. So huge trucks must slow down and negotiate through these barricades slowing down the entire traffic. The highway diverts at Falakata towards Alipurduar. It disappears completely and is replaced by an unending stretch of under-construction road. I did not see any trucks on this stretch which (I think) have very sensibly have been diverted via Cooch Behar. It me 3 hours to do the 100 kms distance to Alipurduar where I checked in at Hotel Palacio Recency. This is a 3-star hotel offering a spacious room, restaurant and parking. Their tariff is high, but I got a good deal on MakeMyTrip. Room with all meals at Rs. 2784/. This ends the 2nd leg of my journey from Pune to Northeast in my Jimny. Will continue the journey to Guwahati and beyond and write about it in the next post. Happy reading.Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
