Highway experiences during lock down (from Hyderabad)

[Gowtham]

Hi All, 

Avoid travel across States/Districts unless it is an emergency. 

Post all your queries and experiences in this post. 
Let me share some of the experiences shared by India-Drive members.  

[Gowtham]

Hyderabad to Tanuku (Telangana to AndhraPradesh)

Shared by India-Drive member Vishu Varanasi

 

I got two passes worked out (one from DCP Shamshabad and another from Hyderabad police)

 

Why again from Hyderabad police? That's because I had a contact who knew a top cop and said he could manage a two way pass. 

Well that didn't work out apparently

Post May 9th all scenes have turned bad and  they stopped issuing 2 way passes apparently. Unless it's an extreme emergency case.

 

I was asked by my cousins who traveled recently to start from Hyderabad at midnight and cross kodada (a very big check-post after Suryapet) by 3:30 - 04:00 am

 

The idea was, a lot of police staff wouldn't be there and just a few low ranked cops guarding the check Post and no medic staff to do the testing.

We were told we can get through easily with no hassles.

 

As expected, there were a few Cops but they were not letting anyone through except extreme emergency cases. 

There were three cars stuck (including mine) and one was let through.

The SI seated in his Jeep didn't even bother to look at my docs, he heard my case and said, do you have any ICU documents? 

When I said no, he asked me to take another route.

 

Here starts my adventure,

 

All check posts are shrugging off their responsibility and avoiding letting people who don't have passes issued from the website.

We were asked you go back and take the  kodada, Khammam route and exit via another check-post.

 

When we finally reached Tiruvuru, the road was blocked and the officer asked us to take another route via Gangaram and exit via Tadepalligudem.

 

We thought we'll ask around and do it and  went to Gangaram and then to Aswaraopeta.

 

This was a Big mistake,

 

 That was a Big check post with loads of migrant buses there and private cars who wanted to enter or pass via Andhra
 

There were two check posts there:

Telangana side: With at least 10 buses , 15 + private cars and migrants standing in line filing up forms.

The cops at our side looked at my docs and told me, if the cops agree we don't have issues sending you across.

They asked me to walk across to the AP side Post and check with them (100 mts away)

 

The AP cop (SI vishwanath) looked at my doc and didn't bother to entertain any reason.

He simply said, as per policy, no approvals from anyone below DGP Will be entertained

 

There were people from Mumbai entering AP but with approvals from website.

He let them through, Which means..any approval that followed the regular process was let through

 

I tried to reason out, beg, argue and even bribe. Nothing worked

 

I then decided that my relatives from Tanuku would drive down, handover my daughter to me across the border to me and I'll drive back.

The AP police said, they're ok with that

 

Still just being 165 kilometres  away I wanted to go to Tanuku.

I walked back to there Telangana side and requested the cop there.

He said,I no one can be bribed here because of surveillance and asked one of the civil helpers to let me know an alternative.

 

 By then I was at the Post for 45-60 mins
 The local guy said there's another minor check post s few kilometers Away and said maybe I can request my way through there.
 

Note: they were permitting all goods vehicles through and so migrant buses after checking docs and disinfecting them

So if anyone is worried about plight of migrant workers.. which many of us are for because of half baked information..they are getting through with a little difficulty though

(Day before when I was at Jubilee police station, there were many UP migrants who approached and the cops guided them to their buses and even suggested they can look up information in trains online)

 

Anyways back to my mudventure

 

 I followed his instruction and reached a check Post via a narrow village road where only 1 car can fit

At the check Post where only three forest officers were there, I explained my plight and requested then to open the barricade.

They seemed to understand me and murmured something between themselves and decided to let me through

They said they'll let me through the Telangana side but the Andhra side needs to be convinced.

 

He took me through field of corn and paddy.

With loads of thick shrubs and hard pointed twigs on either side, places where's only bikes can go through easily or maybe 4x4s where owners don't care about the condition of their vehicles or scratches

Well I had to make it so I went through

 

 Yes .. that's it
 It was a 1.5 or 2 km long drive and quite painful for what my Maruti Dzire had to endure
 Anyways.. I was out on a Village road filled with potholes and was asked to keep going straight until I reached .. koyyalaguden

Here my cousin and BIL helped me with where to go and what village to avoid check posts

 

Once there..we drove through internal roads and hit the highway around 10 kms before Tanuku.
Finally after 10+ hours of torment we reached my destination with me being the only driver
 Avoid the kammayapalem route if you can. It's bad
 And that's how the cookie crumbled

 

Not easy roads and cops,
Felt like mouse that runs behind furniture to avoid being seen.

[Gowtham]

Hyderabad to Kolkata

Shared by India-Drive member Dishari De

 

From a friend who recently Travelled to Kolkata from TS to be with his family due to urgency.. He drove non stop to kolkata.

He penned down few details who are planning to travel now..

For people trying to reach Kolkata from Hyderabad.

OK here is the summary. 

 

please see how this can be pinned for everyone.

 

First things first:

1. This is ONLY for people who have their own arrangements for car.

 

2. Self-driven is the best as they were most helpful and asked lesser questions.

 

3. Exit pass from TS with supporting documents

 

4. Entry pass for WB with the same reason and supporting documents

 

5. Mention the reason which suits best and also you have maximum proofs of. Carry all of them

 

6. Try to carry hard copies of all proofs. They are not keeping anything with them, so 2-3 copies would do, but they are insisting on paper copies and not phones. They are not going to touch your documents and/or your phone. I carried all my documents in clear zip lock bags. I went to Patancheru for photocopies as shops are open there till 6 PM.

 

7. Please DO NOT plan to cross ANY state border between 6 PM to 6 AM. The senior officers may leave and then it is completely on the whims of the people there. AP border police clearly mentioned that they were closing at 830 PM. I started at 1 PM from Hyderabad, Reached AP border at 4 PM, drove all night and reached Orissa border at 6 AM. WB border was around 2 PM. Reached Kolkata at 7 PM.

 

8. At each border, except WB, please go and inform to the office that you are just passing through. There are separate counters/tables for people passing through and it was almost empty at both AP and OD. We did not know of then and wasted time standing in the general queue to enter the state at AP border.

 

9. TS had 4 check points between Miyapur to TS border. Everywhere, except the TS border show your TS exit pass from inside the car by placing it on the window. They are reading it and letting go if there are no questions. At TS border you need to get down and register your and the vehicle details. There is a HP petrol pump right over there and you should fill your tank up.

 

10. At AP border you have to mandatorily get off the road, they have created a huge parking area where you need to park and go to the counters to register yourself. They may be announcing that anyone with any reason other than medical cases would not be allowed into the state. Please do not argue with them, they are very helpful and are working extremely hard for us in this tremendous heat. Just tell them you are passing through and show the WB entry papers as proof. Show your original ID (everyone has to produce including the driver) and anything else they may ask and if they approve they will give a tiny bit of paper which says which AP border you crossed. You need to preserve it till you exit AP. It is extremely tiny, so be extremely careful. We started from AP border at 5 PM. There were 11 checkpoints within AP where we were stopped and asked to show our papers. We showed the TS exit letter, the WB entry letter and the small chit we got from the AP border. Except 2 places, we did not have to get down from the car. Please note that there were several more check posts which were empty which must have been active during the day. Please plan accordingly.

 

11. At OD border they have made elaborate arrangements. Again, please mention upfront that you are passing through to WB and they will take you details at a separate counter and issue you a hand written pass which is valid for OD. Please ensure that the date, vehicle number and no of persons travelling is mentioned correctly in the pass, if not get a fresh one, please do not get it scribbled and corrected upon. It took me 20 mins at the OD border to get the pass and I was the only one asking for a through pass at that time, please imagine how much time it will take when there are many people. At OD exit, they will ask you to get down and register details. Within OD were asked to show the OD pass at 3 places, nothing else was asked for.

 

12. Finally at WB border there will probably be a huge queue. Please park and go ahead and show your documents. EVERY person WILL be screened for fever and several questions will be asked, including swab test. If they have any kind of doubts, they will ask you to go for the test. They have a full hotel there being used as a quarantine center and doctors are available there. Please do not argue with anyone as they have the final say.

 

13. Special mention: MH and DL registered vehicles are NOT being allowed to enter WB.

 

14. After all checks, if approved, WB will give you a certificate with vehicle details and details of all the passengers in your car. Please check it for all correctness. We found an error after we were 20 KMs inside and had to go back again to get a fresh one. It took us over 2 hours there, but we found people waiting there for half a day too because of document or other issues.

 

15. We saw them sending people in any public transport like busses, trax, tempo travelers, cycles, walking, rickshaws, vans to a separate queue, not sure what more was done there with them, so cannot comment. People thinking of any other mode of transport other than personal cars should enquire more.

16. After that there are checkpoints in Debra and Uluberia, how the WB entry pass and the WB border pass to go beyond.

 

17. Please note that the police and doctors are working to help us, so do not misbehave with them or argue or shout. They will consider every case, so please be patient.

 

18. Most roadside hotels, dhabas and restaurants were closed. So please carry enough food with you to last you for 2 days. I stopped at reliance pumps for their clean bathrooms which they said they were regularly disinfecting (we witnessed one) and clean cold water. Carry enough bottles to refill. Do not throw away empty bottles and litter the roads.

 

19. I do not think that any hotel will let you stay for the night or take rest, so please plan to drive all the way. I had thought of taking rest in the fuel pumps if I feel tired or sleepy, but I did not have to, so I cannot comment on whether they will allow you to park and rest. Saw a couple coming from Bangalore taking rest in of the pumps. Always go to the bigger pumps who have better facilities. Do not let your fuel tank run low, many pumps, especially in the cities were closed at night after 6.

 

20. Last but not the least, please travel only if genuine reason is there, if they stop you at the WB border and do not allow, you will be left in the middle of the field to fend for yourself

[Gowtham]

Hyderabad > Vijayawada > Hyderabad update by Ravi

 

 

So i had to pick up mom in vijayawada where was staying with my sister since lockdown.
 

- i applied for a pass in TS govt site seeking permission to go and pick up mother and comeback to Hyderabad on the same day

 

- pass applied at https://policeportal.tspolice.gov.in

 

- it took the authorities aabout 4 days to process and give me appoval. But they are giving out only one way passes.

 

- i had to reply apply in AP govt website requesting a pass to return to Hyderabad. This pass was approved with in a day upon telephonice verification. 
 
- Ap govt pass was applied at https://serviceonline.gov.in/

 

- with all the passes approved, i started yesterday at 6am and it was absolute breeze until i reached kodada,and there was passes verification.

 

- they ask you for your personal details, vehicle details and you are done

 

- picked up my mom and started my return post lunch

 

- on return i was stopped at the same place, verification of passes done

 

- HOME QUARANTINE stamp on your left hand for 28 days

 

- you will not be allowed into telanagana without this stamp

 

- entered hyd, at almost 2-3 check posts they checked my stamp on the hand and then they let me go

 

- reached home at 7 pm

 

- the personal details which were entered at the border, the details will be sent to the respective local police stations, to have random check, if they are home quarantined or not

[Gowtham]

24th May update: Update shared by member

 

 

I drove today from Hyderabad to AP(Nuzvid) via Khammam, kallur. Started at 4AM and no one stopped or checked inbetween.

 

Only at the border both TS and AP police checking and allowing people only if you have a pass.

 

You have to give all the details and they are noting down the pass number.

 

I crossed border at Tiruvuru.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rajagopal]

In 1 week span twice you traveled HYD-AP-HYD, correct !!!

No body questioned your Quarantine stamp on your hand ??

Are they providing pass only emergency or any other reason ??

I came to know that if you have any emergency or valid reason than only they are allowing to cross the border.

Asking you out of my curiosity. 

[Gowtham]

Not my personal update.

Updates shared by India-drive members.

 

Stamp is mandatory from AP to TS.

No stamp from TS to AP.

 

From today, air travel has no restrictions.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rajagopal]

ok thank you for your information.

 

I think from 1st june we can travel (if anybody wants) hassle free.

[Ashwani]

Hi All,

 

I am planning to travel from Hyderabad to Lucknow with my family.  I will go with the following route: 

 

Hyderabad --> Adilabad --> Nagpur --> Sagar --> Jhansi --> Lucknow

 

Please let me know if I still need to collect any e-pass prior to my journey.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[Gowtham]

On 7/25/2020 at 10:49 PM, Ashwani said:

I am planning to travel from Hyderabad to Lucknow with my family. 

 

You need to collect the pass from the destination state. 
For other states you can show the regular destination pass.

[Gowtham]

I drove from Hyderabad to Nagpur today (27th July 2020).

 

Left Gachibowli area around 1130. Got to Nagpur City Limits by 1900.

 

BORDER CROSSING: At the Maharashtra border entry check post, I was just asked questions verbally by a couple of officials sitting there. They asked me where I was coming from, where I was headed (MP), and whether I had made sure I had passes for wherever it is I was going. No passes or Documents were actually checked.

 

PASSES: I did apply yesterday (26th) for a “Nagpur to MP Destination city” pass from the MH Police Site. It was first rejected when I put my Hyderabad address, with reason “Outside Jurisdiction”. I then re-applied with the address of my hotel in Nagpur, and put travel date of 28th, which is when I will drive from Nagpur to MP. The second time it was approved in minutes. This pass was not required / asked to be shown while entering MH.

 

As far as I can tell, the Maharashtra Police system issues passes of 2 types: (1) Intra-Maharashtra, (2) Maharashtra to outside. It does not have an option to get a pass for say Hyderabad to Nagpur. But that was not required, based on my experience.

 

I also got me a pass from the MP Website. Again not required not even asked for so far, but just to be safe. The MP pass requires no approval from anyone. It is free for everyone (unless you intend to enter Bhopal, where there is a lockdown in force, and for which I do not know the requirements or process).

 

ROAD CONDITION: Excellent throughout Telangana. No surprises or sudden potholes or bumps that I can remember.

 

However, the Maharashtra side of the journey is not to be taken lightly. You could legit break your car if it isn’t a huge jeep or SUV. Once you exit the last toll tax in Telangana (Pippalwada), the one after Adilabad exit from the highway, you need to be careful.

 

I will highly recommend driving the Adilabad to Nagpur patch while there is daylight. Leave early from Hyderabad if you need to.

 

There are sudden huge potholes in a bunch of places after entering Maharashtra. From this point until this point please drive very carefully.

Even after that, all the way until Nagpur do not consider the road to be trustworthy like it was back in Telangana. Speed past 100 only at your own risk.

happy travelling!

 

by @Sankalp

[Richin]

On 7/27/2020 at 4:20 PM, Ranger said:

I drove from Hyderabad to Nagpur today (27th July 2020).

@Sankalp

Thanks Sankalp. I am planning for road trip with family ( 2 small kids) from Hyderabad to Lucknow via Nagpur. this is very helpful. Did you stay in Nagpur in any hotel ? if yes, can you suggest the name?

Edited August 3, 2020 by Ranger
quote only single line

[sagar]

12 hours ago, Richin said:

if yes, can you suggest the name

Hey @Richin,

 

I would recommend you to stay somewhere around Somalwada a decent place in Nagpur before entering the core of crowded Nagpur city. A few good hotels in Somalwada are, The Legend Inn, Hotel Star Zest House, Hotel Airport centre point.

[sankalpk]

Hi @Richin, I stayed at the Le Meridien which is outside the city and you reach it first when coming from Hyderabad. I will admit it is a pricier hotel than the usual accommodations I prefer, but I was looking for something that was isolated and it fit that perfectly. Secondly I wanted a hotel which would not spare any expense in measures against COVID, and Le Meridien seemed OK on that aspect as well, since it's part of a big chain (Marriott) and they have a reputation to protect.

 

I found the stay there to be quite satisfactory. Meals were delivered to my room, and all employees seemed to be sanitizing and wearing masks, sometimes gloves too.

 

If you follow google maps, please note it will give you a long-winding route to get from the highway to Le Meridien. Instead you can just take the right side turn a bit before the hotel (right before the Indian Oil Pump) and go in the service road from there itself, and get to the hotel much faster. They have also put a sign board on the hotel-side of the Highway.

Edited July 30, 2020 by sankalpk
Update info

[Guest Shivam]

On 7/26/2020 at 11:19 AM, Ashwani said:

Hi All,

 

I am planning to travel from Hyderabad to Lucknow with my family.  I will go with the following route: 

 

Hyderabad --> Adilabad --> Nagpur --> Sagar --> Jhansi --> Lucknow

 

Please let me know if I still need to collect any e-pass prior to my journey.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

Hi, can you confirm if you travlled as per the plan. Also the route you took (basically road conditions) and where did you take halt. Any good restaurants on the route. What was the total driving time?

[sagar]

13 hours ago, Guest Shivam said:

Please let me know if I still need to collect any e-pass prior to my journey.

Though the restrictions have been lifted, it is always recommended to carry the state permit passes on a safer side as they come instantly during these times..

 

During my drive, I’ve started from Hyderabad at 4 am and reached Sagar by 7 pm with a good number of breaks inbetween... Roads after Nagpur are pretty bad. 
 

Just to be sure to pass Jhansi early during the sunlight before reaching Lucknow, I made sure to do 900+ kms to reach Sagar on my Day -1 drive.

 

i would recommend you to follow the same.

[sagar]

14 hours ago, Guest Shivam said:

Please let me know if I still need to collect any e-pass prior to my journey.

Below is the link on the latest route update you need.. 

 

 

[ksa171983]

A week ago I did Hyd-Rajahmundry-Hyd in a single day (995km)

 

- E-pass not mandatory but i still carried one as i was traveling with two elderly folks.

-After getting down from exit 11 (ORR) the stretch for around 12km is horrifying with a million pot holes and due to that traffic Jam .. i was very surprised that just in a span of 5 months his road had come to this due to no maintenance.

-Post the 12 km bad stretch the road is a breeze till Vijaywada..

-Cross vijaywada and then you will see road construction (6 lane in progress) till eluru and it slows you down a lot but still u can maintain 80-100 if your car can handle the road.

- Post Eluru you will be inclined to take a different route simply coz the road is SOOO bad that your back will hurt (this is the tanuku bypass road ).

- I started at 5 am from Nallagandla hyd and crossed vijaywada by 8:45 am. Then i reached RJY at 1 pm (this stretch of 150 km took me around 4 hours plus )

- At the border cars were being checked for liquor and since i was traveling with elderly people i was not stopped and was let go.

 

I dropped my folks at 1 pm, started back from there at 1:15 pm and reached home by 9:45 pm ..

It would have been an excellent journey overall considering the weather but the roads just spoilt everything for me

[sagar]

24 minutes ago, ksa171983 said:

After getting down from exit 11 (ORR) the stretch for around 12km is horrifying with a million pot holes and due to that traffic Jam .. i was very surprised that just in a span of 5 months his road had come to this due to no maintenance.

That particular stretch which is a no toll road has been a danger even during the times when the road was good especially during the night times when the divider is hardly seen .. the road height was hiked where as the divider was not.. It almost feels like there is no divider at all.. A sure shot danger during the night when the high beams falls into your naked eye

[ksa171983]

16 hours ago, sagar said:

That particular stretch which is a no toll road has been a danger even during the times when the road was good especially during the night times when the divider is hardly seen .. the road height was hiked where as the divider was not.. It almost feels like there is no divider at all.. A sure shot danger during the night when the high beams falls into your naked eye

yes true.

[Kshitiz]

Hi all,

I found following information for 2 states:

Maharashtra: The Maharashtra Police e-pass webportal (https://covid19.mhpolice.in/) home page says ..."As per the State Government Desicion Travel e-pass is no longer required for travelling" I hope other states is also following same guidance, under Unlock 4.0, which started Sep 1, 2020.

 

Madhya Pradesh: E-pass portal is still open for e-pass applications (https://mapit.gov.in/covid-19/applyepass.aspx?q=apply). So, may be they still require; however, they are not asking for Medical Certificate, may be they never asked. 🙂

Regards,

Kshitiz

Edited September 7, 2020 by Kshitiz

[Gowtham]

On 9/7/2020 at 12:23 AM, Kshitiz said:

I found following information for 2 states:

 

Thank you for the update, information is helpful. 

[Mallika]

Hi,

I am travelling from Lucknow to Hyderabad in April 2021. Can you please tell me the best route to travel. 

I wanted to confirm if NH44 highway- Seoni Pench highway is still closed?? As when I travelled in September 2020 it was closed and we had to de-tour because of which we had to travel 150 kms extra. Can anyone help on this?

[sankalpk]

@Mallika looks like the diversion is no longer there, based on this recent comment on another thread: