18 New Ropeways To Come Up Across India: Here Is The List

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is planning to kick-start 18 ropeway projects totalling about 90 km across the country in the next few months, reports News 18.

This comes close on the heels of tenders being floated on 1 October to build a 1.99-km-long ropeway from Ujjain Junction Railway Station to Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh.

According to the report, seven such projects are on the block for which tenders will likely be floated in this year.

A look at these projects:

Bijli Mahadev Ropeway, Himachal Pradesh: The tender for a 3.2-km-long ropeway to Bijli Mahadev Temple will be floated this month (October 2022). The project in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh shall help cover the existing 5-km steep trek within seven minutes.

Shiv Khori Ropeway, Jammu: The ministry is also planning to develop a 2-km ropeway project from Darshan Deopdi to Shiv Khori Temple near Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu region. The project shall provide an immediate relief to the lakhs of pilgrims visiting the shrine every year.

Trimbakeshwar Ropeway, Nashik:  A proposal is also being considered for building a 5-km-long ropeway between Anjaneri and Brahmagiri in Trimbakeshwar. Trimbakeshwar, located about 30 km from Nashik city, hosts one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples.

While Brahmagiri is the origin of the Godavari River, Anjaneri is known to be the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. The ropeway will connect both these important places atop the respective hills.

Chabimura Ropeway, Tripura: Chabimura is a famous tourist destination in Tripura known for rock carvings of Hindu gods and goddesses. A 6-km-long ropeway is planned from Maharani to Chabimura to help provide a boost to tourism in the state.

Rajgad Fort, Pune: In Maharashtra, the Centre has planned a 1.4-km ropeway to the Rajgad Fort in Pune. Rajgad is a hill fort which was the first capital of the Maratha Empire under the rule of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.  

Kodachadri Hills, Udupi, Karnataka: The tenders for a 6.68-km-long ropeway to Kodachadri Hills in Udupi district will be floated in December 2022. Kodachadri Hills has a dense forest area and is known for its numerous famous temples and monolithic structures.

Leh Palace Ropeway, Ladakh: A 0.5 km ropeway is being planned at Leh Palace to promote tourism in Ladakh. Leh Palace is a former royal palace overlooking the city of Leh in Ladakh.  

The ropeway projects which are likely to be awarded next year include:

Phool Bagh Square to Gwalior Fort: The bids for 1.5-km-long ropeway between Phool Bagh Square and Gwalior Fort is expected to be floated in January 2023.

Palani to Kodaikanal:  A 12-km-long ropeway project will be built in Tamil Nadu from Palani to Kodaikanal, a popular hill station.

Daporijo to Dumporijo ropeway:  Bids for the 4.79-km ropeway project from Daporijo to Dumporijo in Upper Subansiri district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh will be floated in January 2023.

Shankaracharya: A ropeway to the top of the Shankaracharya Hillock in Srinagar is also on the agenda of the central government. The 1-km-long ropeway is designed to provide easier connectivity to visitors to Shankaracharya Temple on top of the hillock.

Eegalapenta to Srisailam Temple: The ropeway to the Srisailam Temple in Andhra Pradesh will be across the Krishna River from Eegalapenta in Telangana state. Bids for this prestigious project will be invited in February 2023.

Ghaziabad Ropeway, Uttar Pradesh:  A 10-km-long ropeway is planned to interlink two metro stations, namely, Vaishali Metro Station and Mohan Nagar Metro Station which shall release the pressure on the existing transport infrastructure in Ghaziabad.

Sendra-Chaoba Ching, Manipur: The bids for a 4.7-km-long ropeway between Sendra and Chaoba Ching hills in Bishnupur district in Manipur will be floated in March 2023.

Under Construction

The National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML) has invited bids for three projects of religious tourism importance, namely, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Kedarnath Temple (Uttarakhand) and Hemkund Sahib (Uttarakhand), all of which are expected to be finalised by the end of this year.

Varanasi Ropeway, Uttar Pradesh: The ropeway at Varanasi — the spiritual capital of India, is a 3.8-km journey from Cantonment Railway Station to Godowlia Chowk.

Currently, this journey takes about 60 minutes during peak hours which will be reduced to about 17 minutes post completion of the ropeway. Thus, helping ease the pressure on the existing transport infrastructure.

Kedarnath Ropeway, Uttarakhand: The 13-km-long Sonprayag-Gaurikund-Kedarnath ropeway project will significantly reduce the time taken by pilgrims to reach the Kedarnath shrine in Rudraprayag district.

Set to be the longest ropeway in the world at an altitude of 11,500 feet above sea level, the estimated cost of the project is Rs 985 crore.

Hemkund Sahib Ropeway, Uttarakhand:  The 12.5-km Govind Ghat-Hemkund Sahib project is being constructed at a cost of Rs 764 crore to facilitate travel up to Hemkund Sahib, a famous Sikh pilgrimage in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

The existing way from Govind Ghat to Hemkund Sahib is a 19-km steep and tough foot track and takes about 12 hours to reach the shrine.