Parvatmala Scheme: Yamunotri To Soon Get A Ropeway, To Reduce Travel Time To Just 15 Minutes

The Union government has given its approval to the much-awaited Yamunotri ropeway project.

The project has received clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests after a long delay.

The ropeway is to be built from Kharsali to Yamunotri at an altitude of 10,797 feet and will be 3.8 km long (aerial distance).

The estimated cost of project is Rs 1,200 crore.

The Yamunotri temple is located in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. It is situated at an altitude of approximately 3,291 metres in the western Garhwal Himalayas. Devotees currently endure a 5 km steep climb after Janaki Chatti to reach the temple. 

The ropeway aims to cut the travel time to 10 to 15 minutes from five hours.

The ropeway will not just reduce the distance to the Himalayan temple but also save pilgrims, especially the elderly, from undertaking the arduous trek to reach it, said District Tourism Officer Rahul Chaubey, reports PTI.

The project was envisaged in 2008. The foundation stone of the Rs 1,200 crore project was laid in 2011 by the then BJP president Nitin Gadkari and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank who was the then chief minister.

However, it had not been able to take off due to bottlenecks in the acquisition of forest land for the purpose. 

The villagers of Kharsali had given approximately 14,880 square yards of land for the project, Chaubey added.

The Ministry of Environment and Forest has now transferred 3.8 hectares of land to the tourism department for the project. 

The establishment of this ropeway would boost spiritual tourism in the region. 

Uttarakhand Infrastructure — To Boost Spiritual Tourism

The Narendra Modi government has undertaken many infrastructure projects in the hill state of Uttarakhand to improve connectivity and boost the tourism sector.

The ambitious 900 km-long Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna (Chardham highway project) for all-weather connectivity to the four holy towns of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri shrines as well as Tanakpur in Uttarakhand is being built with an investment of Rs 12,000 crore.

Recently, Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation for two ropeways in Uttarakhand — Gaurikund to Kedarnath and Govind Ghat to Hemkund.

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.