Saturday, May 21, 2011

Pune to Solapur - The Pandharpur Road

Yestreday we drove form Pune to Solapur via Pandharpur to avoid the under construction, traffic heavy severely and bottlenecked NH 9 that is being four laned for this distance of 250 kms. Checking the map we found a road that was of the same distance - 250 kms - and looked like it was worth a try. We drove from Pune to Shirval on the Satara highway which is a dream but then Shirval comes (40 kms from Pune) or so and then after Shirval you find a board pointing to Pandharpur and you turn off left. The road if being laid and you have an indication of what to expect as there are stretches of a kilometer of laid road and stretch of road dug up.

We threaded our way through that road up to Phaltan, passing by a magnificent lake where the contractor, IVRCL, had the four laned road laid to add to the beauty. The road winds around the lake and since we were there at sunrise time it was a wonderful spectacle. But the road kept degenerating until there were stretches where there was almost n road at all. The drive up to Phaltan (a distance of some 60 kms from Shirval) was a nightmare and is best avoided until the road is laid - unless you fancy traveling at 30 kmph average and keep bumping along. I was in an Innova and still felt the pain, so you can imagine what would have happened if we were in our Santro. The only good thing about this road is no one uses it - no traffic at all - but that is understandable because there is almost no road! But if you have a flat or need some help god help you.

Once you reach Phaltan the road improves and generally gets a lot better up to Pandharpur, a distance of some 110 kms, and then there is a fine road from Pandhapur to Mohol.(40 kms). Once you hit the highway connecting Pune to Solapur you find that the heavy traffic makes you actually feel thankful for the other road. Mohol to Solapur is only 30 kms but it is a painful drive. There is little to toss up between the Pune- Shirval-Phaltan-Pandhapur-Mohol- Solapur road and the Pune-Solapur NH9, as of now. But if the road between Shirval and Phaltan is laid then you have a really good thing going as long as you are not traveling in the palki season when lakhs of devotees congregate at Pandharpur (normally June-July season). Alternately if one can find a decent route for Pune to Phaltan and make it in under two hours, then the drive to Pandharpur and Mohol is good.

The 250 kms drive from Pune to Mohol took 5 hrs and 45 minutes which is an improvement over the 6 hours and 30 minutes that the NH9 took a week ago but its still too long. What beats my comprehension is how these alternate roads were not developed or envisaged to lessen traffic on the NH9 which is in a pathetic state. This road would have been a wonderful alternative if the roads had been in normal state highway state. It amazes me how little thought or foresight goes on in the government and how things just go on in any fashion they deem fit. As you go from Maharashtra to Karnataka roads you heave a sigh of relief and when you hit the Andhra Pradesh stretch of 122 kms till Hyderabad you cannot but exclaim and say, wow, what roads! The Pune-Solapur stretch should take a year to get completer and until then it is better to take the train or find alternate roads. I wonder if there is some other road that connects Solapur-Pune - even if it is longer by 60-75 kms and is in state highway condition, it would be worth it if we could do 300 kms in say 5 hours.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

thank u very much. I was searching for some help to reach Pandharpur and ur blog has given me valuable input. Jitendra Vaishnav

Harimohan said...

My pleasure Jitendra. Do let me know the condition of the road you have taken.

DJ said...

thanx hari...

i was about to take this alternate route of SH70 from pune to pandharpur via phaltan... but i guess taking train is better...


thanks once again ..

dhananjay

DJ said...

thanx hari....your blog was very beneficial in deciding final route to pandharpur....instead of car now we will be travelling by train..

Harimohan said...

Hi DJ,
Glad to be of some help - that was the intention of that blog anyway - train makes a lot of sense on that route right now.

Anonymous said...

what is the current state of pune solapur NH 9 and how much time does it take

Harimohan said...

Anon, sadly no recent trips to Solapur or Pune so nothing new to offer. I should hazard a guess that the road would be much better as work was going on pretty rapidly but no authentic information as of now. Will post if I hear an update.

Harimohan said...

Thanks for the update Nitin. I figured as much and stopped driving to Pune until the roads get better. The best option now to travel between Hyd and Pune is the daily Shatabdi that takes just 8 hours. Its fantastic.

Vasudev said...

Thanx Hari,
I was planning to visit Pandharapur with family in an Innova. Was wandering the best route to follow. My wife returned from Solapur recently & the roads are still at its worst. So have to drop plan by road.
Finally, our infrastructure reflects our rulers conscience.

Anonymous said...

hi. am planning to go from pune to solapur tommorrow 4 pm in a WagonR. i do nto have a choice .
1. is there any improvement in the road
2. do you suggest any other alt road
3. is 4 pm good enought to reach Solapur by night

very kind regards
JS

Harimohan said...

Hi Anon,
You might have left Hyd and reached Solapur by now but for whatever it is worth:
1) The second part will take a while to get into good condition, so an early start from Pune to Solapur might save you from some traffic
2) No alternate route really unless you try the Pandharpur road which is approx the same distance...ou take a diversion from Mohol which is about 30 kms after Solapur on the Pune highway. But I don't know the quality of that road and its rather a lonely ride with little traffic
3) 4 pm from Hyd should normally get you to Solapur by 9-930 p.m. depending on road conditions and traffic. It's 300 kms from Hyd. Have a safe trip.

Anonymous said...

sorry. i made a mistake. starting from Pune today @ 4.30 . does this information change your reply .
kind regards
thanks for your reply
JS

Harimohan said...

No Anon, nothing new to add I am afraid. I just realised that you might not have read my recent experience on this road - one month ago - check out that blog. http://www.harimohanparuvu.blogspot.in/2013/05/the-pune-hyderabad-route-wait-another.html
But don't get too hassled by the tone of the blog esp since you are breaking the journey at Solapur - roads pretty decent till Zaheerabad, sometime after that the Karnataka roads begin and its bad for a stretch, go easy and patient there, roads improves again and is pretty good till Solapur. Unless something has changed for the better in the meantime! Safe trip.

Anonymous said...

thanks for the reply. i made the journey and wanted to add my experience for the future team. The roads are not as bad as it is meant to be. yes not on par with pune mumbai expressway or Pune Kolhapur road but it not very bad. need to have constant vigil as they are many turns to be taken from left to right and vice virsa. As Harimohan ji explains the place near Tembhurni is still very bad and one can use around half an hour there. i made the trip 5 hrs one way and 6 hrs other way. would strongly advice not to travel at night. thanks for the support Harimohan ji
JS

Harimohan said...

Thanks Anon, my pleasure.