Dates and weather
Plan around the Pujas first: Durga Puja, usually in September or October, followed by Kali Puja and Diwali, crowds both the coal towns and Kolkata and makes crews scarce. Then the weather. Coalfield summers, about April to June, are fierce, and Kolkata's long monsoon from June to September leaves roads waterlogged after a heavy downpour. The dry, cooler months of November to February are usually the easiest.
Handing back a coal-company quarter
If you're leaving a coal-company or PSU quarter, the colony office will usually need a vacating notice, a handover inspection of fittings and sometimes a gate pass for the truck. Fix these before booking the mover, show the crew which fans, lights and fittings belong to the quarter, and keep the handover receipt. Homes near Bank More and Hirapur may need an early start to beat market and coal-truck traffic.
Seal cartons well against dust, and wrap furniture fully.
Through the industrial belt
From Dhanbad the highway runs east past Gobindpur and Nirsa, crosses the Barakar river into West Bengal and passes Asansol and Durgapur, with their steel plants and coal traffic, before continuing as the Durgapur Expressway towards Kolkata. Expect heavy freight through Asansol and Durgapur and a busy approach to the city.
At about 272 km, goods usually arrive the morning after dispatch. Ask whether a dedicated vehicle or a shared load is quoted.
Into Kolkata
The expressway approach brings the truck towards Dankuni and across the Hooghly by the Vivekananda or Nivedita bridges, or round towards Howrah, so north and central Kolkata, Dum Dum and Salt Lake are usually quicker than south Kolkata. North and central Kolkata have old houses on narrow lanes where a truck may need to stop away from the door, while Salt Lake and New Town towers ask for notice and a lift booking.
Tell the mover the exact address and floor, and share the building's rules before loading day.
Retiring from the coalfield
Many families on this route are leaving company quarters on retirement and moving to Kolkata to be near children or for its hospitals and city life. If an older parent is moving, keep their medicines, documents and familiar things in a bag that travels with them, choose a building with a working lift, and set up their room first.
Damp and the monsoon
Kolkata is humid for much of the year. After unloading, keep fans running, open cartons of books, clothes and bedding early and use silica gel in drawers. Keep polished wood and leather away from walls that get damp. If an employer is paying, ask what documents they need; every mover we work with provides a GST invoice.
Settling in
Register with your building or society for parking and visitors on the first day, and book internet as soon as you have the address. Bengali is Kolkata's main language, and Hindi is widely understood. Update your bank, employer and delivery apps; our guide to address changes after moving covers the main official updates.