Banashankari residents Sandeep R and Sneha travelled the Golden Quadrilateral in their car to mark the 25th anniversary of the national highway network.
The Golden Quadrilateral connects the metropolitan cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai. Its foundation stone was laid on January 6, 1999, by late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The husband-wife duo set out from Bengaluru on February 25 and returned on March 12 after crossing 11 states. They drove through cities like Aurangabad, Ahmedabad and Udaipur in the west, Mathura, Agra, Ayodhya and Varanasi in the north, Kolkata and Puri in the east, and Visakhapatnam and Chennai in the south.
They wanted to travel the route twice earlier but it didn’t materialise due to multiple reasons. “We planned it again this year because it is a landmark year,” says Sandeep, an IT professional.
On the trip, the couple witnessed “different cultures and landscapes and also how road infrastructure has grown across the country”, he tells Metrolife. They were also in for surprises.
Sandeep says, “My friends and fellow travellers who have travelled (the network) in the past had warned us against driving in the eastern part of India after
3 pm. However, people in the region were inquisitive about our trip. They asked us to attempt more such trips and encourage people from south India to travel to the east.”
Even police officers at checkposts enquired about their trip and offered them refreshments, he adds.
For long road trips, he says people should ensure their vehicle is road trip ready. “Book your accommodation in advance, keep your vehicle paperwork up to date, and set realistic driving goals,” he adds.
Published 09 May 2024, 22:19 IST