Ghaziabad to Lucknow

I always wanted to do a long distance road journey in my new car. The best that I had had managed was a distance of about 180 kilometers between Delhi and Rampur (my hometown). So, when the opportunity befell, I grabbed onto it. My wife, who belongs to Lucknow, was at her parents’ place. And I, like the dutiful husband I am, had to go and fetch her and the kids back. I and my friend, who hails from Lucknow, decided to undertake this journey.

The distance between Ghaziabad and Lucknow is about 490 kilometers. There are two routes that one can take:

·         NH–24, via Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, and Sitapur

·         NH–2, via Faridabad, Firozabad, and Kanpur

There is another route that crosses through Aligarh and Kannauj. However, this route is not much in use primarily due to adverse road condition. We did some research and found that while NH–24 route is ill-maintained but shorter, the NH–2 is longer and relatively better maintained (it is a toll road for a large section of the stretch). As I had frequently made road journeys between Delhi and Rampur, I had a higher degree of acquaintance with NH–24. We decided to trust our existing knowledge and settled down on NH–24.

The entire journey between Ghaziabad and Lucknow can be easily divided into following three sections:

·         Ghaziabad to Rampur (168 kilometers)

·         Rampur to Shahjananpur (148 kilometers)

·         Shahjanahpur to Lucknow (175 kilometers)

Ghaziabad to Rampur

We started our journey at 5:00 am on a Saturday morning from Vasundhara, Ghaziabad. We reached Mohan Nagar road junction and turned right on the GT road. After moving for about 2 kilometers, we crossed Hindon Bridge. After about a kilometer or so, there is a left turn for Hapur (NH–24) that crosses some of the Ghaziabad’s popular and posh colonies such as Raj Nagar and Kavi Nagar. This road joins the new NH–24 (Hapur by-pass road via UP Gate and Vijaynagar) after Govindpuram. There is a railway crossing just about 100 meters where the two roads meet, and a flyover was being constructed at that site to ease frequent traffic jams, arising due to the crossing barrier. We realized, to our dismay, that the road was closed due to ongoing construction and one has to look for some colony roads to join Hapur by-pass (sadly there were no signboards to guide hapless travelers). Fortunately, the hidden link was found quickly and we were soon on the national highway.

Caution: Please do not criss-cross Ghaziabad if you are planning to start your journey anytime after 8:00 am. The roads are narrow (due to massive encroachment), poorly maintained and get chock-a-blocked with traffic during peak hours. In such cases, and assuming you are coming from Delhi, go straight (after crossing Akshardham temple on your left) from the Murga-mundi flyover towards Shipra Mall (Indirapuram) and keep going straight for about 20 kilometers.

The road condition gets better and one can comfortably drive between 50–60 km/hour. We crossed several small hamlets including Masoori (vaguely in contrast with the actual Mussouri we are familiar with), Dasna and Pilkhuwa. The latter is famous for its textile products, especially bedsheets and designer towels. Pilkhuwa can get very congested, so it is better to cross it by 7:00 am (latest). Few kilometers after Pilkhuwa, the road bifurcates. The left fork goes to Hapur district and the right diversion is the Hapur bypass. This section (which runs for about 20 kilometers) is very picturesque with little traffic. The road is a well-laid, two-lane road and is very smooth. There are lush green fields on both sides and the morning sun makes the entire scene very refreshing. There are very few cuts/crossings, which enhances the driving pleasure. In fact, much of the road till Moradabad is in an excellent condition with a very generous dose of flyovers, toll plazas (L L) and by-passes.

We passed a township every 10 kilometers (typical of Western UP) such as Bahadurgarh, Kuchesar, Simbhouli, and Baksar. We crossed Brijghat (about 70 kms from Ghaziabad) at 6:15 am and reached Gajraula at 6:30 pm. This place is a foodie’s delight and we found several outlets of well-known food chains such as Dominos, KFC, Bikamerwala, Haldirams and McDonald. Besides, there are numerous local dhabas that serve mouth watering Indian dishes.

The road condition was great and we managed to cover the distance very quickly. For CNG car users, there is a gas station (on their right) between Joya and Pakbara, just before Moradabad. We took Moradabad bypass, paid toll charges, and reached Dalpatpur (about 20 kms before Rampur). The road condition from here deteriorates and we encountered several craters and potholes. However, the good news is the road widening work was going on, and we expected this stretch to get seamless in about 18 months. Another good development was the Rampur flyover (over the railway crossing just before Rampur) was open for public. People who are familiar with this route will know what a big pain it was!

Finally, we reached Rampur at 8:00 am and halted for our first tea-break.

Time taken: 3.5 hours (including tea break)

Rampur to Shahjahanpur

We resumed our journey at 8:30am on the NH–24 towards Bareilly, a distance of 64 kms. Being a native of Rampur, I have undertaken frequent trips on this section (since my childhood). Though this time, I was going after a gap of 3 years. I was quite sure that we would encounter a bumpy ride, as this road is infested by numerous uneven patches. However the moment I left Rampur, I was pleasantly surprised to see the extensive road widening work being done by NHAI. This section of the road is part of the larger project that aims to do 4–laning of NH–24 from Delhi to Lucknow. We reached a small township—Milak—in no time, although we encountered numerous diversions, muddy patches and semi-constructed flyovers. As the future appeared bright, these hassles assumed miniscule proportions. We crossed other hamlets such as Mirganj and Fatehganj. These places are quite jam-prone owing to heavy vehicular movement, coupled with presence of local market. There are also two railway crossing that may turn out to be the mood spoilers on a bad day L—one is immediately after Milak, and the other after Fatehganj. Another 15 odd kms, we reached CB Ganj (an acronym for Collector Buck Ganj) at 9:45am. This is the Bareilly outskirts and the city literally starts from this point.  Further 4 kms on the road, we found a diversion that said Pilibhit Bypass. We checked with the policemen on the driving directions to Lucknow and he replied that it is better to go through the Bareilly city (as it is much straighter route). The bypass is primarily for folks heading towards Pilibhit. Later, it takes a turn and also joins Lucknow road. However, the entire section works out to be much circuitous and is dotted with heavy traffic. On their advice, we headed towards Bareilly city and navigated the morning traffic, asking our way out of the plethora of intersections. We could finally leave Bareilly at 10:30am, a good 2 hours from Rampur. It was time for some delicious breakfast and we halted at a dhaba near Invertis University—a distance of about 15 kms from Bareilly.

Having had a mouthful, we restarted at 11:30am. Shahjahanpur was about 70 kms from there and we estimated a travel time of 1.5 hours. The road condition was satisfying (definitely not good) and there were minimal signs of future construction. It was a single lane road that allowed two vehicles to pass from either side. The traffic eased a bit as majority of the hill traffic diverts to Pilibhit (from Bareilly). Having said that, there was still good enough number of vehicles on the road. We crossed Tilhar, a dusty, small town on the way. Luckily, there was a by-pass here and we did not go inside the place. We touched Shahjahanpur at 12:45 PM and took the Sitapur bypass road. We could see the second phase of our journey behind us. Lucknow was so near, yet so far!!

Time taken: ~4.5 hours (including breakfast session)

Shahjahanpur to Lucknow

Breezing past the bypass, we saw a Ryan International, which elated the town’s status. The road was smooth for another 20-odd kms and then we had the roadblock of our journey (quite literally). The road was being widened to 4-lane, as part of the NHAI programme to have a 4-lane road between Delhi and Lucknow. We witnessed a jam and were hung for about 45 minutes across a mere 400 metres. There was city traffic, Shahjahanpur-Sitapur traffic, tippers, trucks meant for the cement factory and bullock carts. We were sandwiched in this melee. We saw a slice of UP in these three quarters of an hour. There was a VIP movement and escort police stepped in to remove the jam only as long as they got cleared. Regular traffic police or city police was nowhere in sight.

Post the jam, the road was clear and we were zipping at an average of 70-80 kmph, when we spotted Maigalganj, at about 40 kms from Shahjahanpur. This place is famous for gulab jamuns; there are shacks dotted on both sides of the road in this hamlet. We stopped and had these delicacies and also got them packed in earthen pots. Do stop by to taste these local niceties, which are unlike the branded and canned varieties that are bland on the palate.

After Maigalganj, we decided not to stop any further as it was already 1:30 PM. We continued for another 40 kms to reach Sitapur. We were discussing Sitapur’s only name to fame on the national scene—Sridevi, the Bollywood actress of yesteryears had her eyes operated while shooting for ‘Nagina’. This district has a renowned eye hospital that is revered in the near-by areas.

The road from Sitapur to Lucknow was a toll way with 4 lanes. The distance was about 90 kms but the road was best in the entire stretch. We burnt the tar and touched 160 kmph; this was about 15 kms before BKT (Bakshi ka Talaab), the entry point of Lucknow.  After this it was city traffic that had familiar tempos or Vikrams, as they are called in Lucknow. We proceeded to our homes. In totality, it was a 11 hour journey including a 40-minute tea break, 50-minute lunch and about 40 minutes in a jam!!

Time taken: 4.5 hours (including breakfast session)