Some important decisions were taken in the cabinet and Cabinet Committee on Cabinet and Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Modi. During this time, the cabinet approved two important projects of ropeway in Uttarakhand under the National Ropeway Development Program and Ratmala Project.
This includes the ropeway project from Sonprayag to Kedarnath (12.9 km) and the development of ropeway project from Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib J (12.4 km).
The cost of about 7 thousand crores will come on projects
The 12.4 km ropeway project from Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib Ji will be developed on design, construction, finance, operation and transfer (DBFOT) mode, which will cost Rs 2,730.13 crore. There is a plan to develop a 12.9 km ropeway project from Sonprayag to Kedarnath in public-private partnership. The project will be developed at a total cost of Rs 4,081.28 crore on design, construction, finance, operation and transfer (DBFOT) mode.
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18000 passengers will reach Kedarnath from Sonprayag every day
Kedarnath is one of the 12 holy Jyotirlingas located in Rudraprayag district at an altitude of 3,583 meters (11968 ft). This temple is open to pilgrims for about 6 to 7 months from Akshaya Tritiya (April-May) to Deepawali (October-November) in a year and about 2 million pilgrims come here annually during this season.
This ropeway will be based on the most advanced tri-cable detachable Gondola (3S) technology. Its design capacity will be 1,800 passengers per hour (PPHPD), which will take 18,000 passengers per day. The ropeway project will be a boon for pilgrims coming to Kedarnath as it will provide environment-friendly, comfortable and fast connectivity and will reduce travel time in one direction from about 8 to 9 hours to about 36 minutes.
The ropeway project will provide adequate employment opportunities throughout the year in the relevant tourism industries such as hospitality, travel, food and beverages (F&B) and tourism. The journey from Gaurikund to Kedarnath Temple is a challenging climb of 16 km. Here it is currently decided by foot or pony, palanquin and helicopter. The proposed ropeway’s plan has been made to provide convenience to the pilgrims coming to the temple and to ensure connectivity between Sonprayag and Kedarnath in every season.
The journey from Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib will also be easy
Hemkund Sahib is a famous pilgrimage site located at an altitude of 15,000 feet in Chamoli district. The gurudwara installed at this holy site is open for about 5 months in a year between May to September and about 1.5 to 2 lakh pilgrims come here every year. The visit of Hemkund Sahib Ji also works as a gateway to the famous Valley of flowers, which is a national park located in the ancient Garhwal Himalayas which is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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This ropeway is planned to develop in public-private partnership and will be based on monochable detective Gondola (MDG) from Govindghat to Ghangharia (10.55 km). It will be connected to Ghangharia to Hemkund Sahib ji (1.85 km) the most advanced trikable detected Gondola (3S) technology. Its design will be prepared in such a way that its capacity will be 1,100 passengers (PPHPD) per hour and it will take 11,000 passengers per day.
Currently, Hemkund Sahib Ji’s visit is a challenging climb of 21 km from Govindghat and is completed by foot or pony or palanquin. The proposed ropeway has been planned to facilitate the pilgrims visiting Hemkund Sahib ji and tourists visiting the Valley of Flowers and it will ensure the final mile connectivity between Govindghat and Hemkund Sahib Ji in every season.
Local coopers told positive steps
When we talked to the local people about this ropeway project, they called it a positive step and said that the number of passengers going to Kedarnath will increase and local businessmen will also benefit. Home stay addicted Mayank Karnatki aajtak.in Talking to, he said that this will create new employment opportunities for the people. He hoped that if the local business is affected due to this, then the government will definitely take steps in that direction too.
At the same time, another resident of Ukhimath and traders in Kedarnath Ayush Pushpwan aajtak.in Told that the benefit of becoming a ropeway will be that the number of passengers will increase and people can come back to Sonprayag after seeing Baba Kedar in a single day and can promote the business of homestates and other catering of the local people. He expressed concern that this could also affect local employment as the businessmen working on Gaurikund from Sonprayag and then on foot route, their business will not run as before.
At the same time, a local corbari Ajay said that one advantage of this will be that if the walking route of the journey is damaged due to rain or weather, then the journey can continue through the ropeway. This will not stop the journey completely and local business will not be affected uninterruptedly. He said that this will not only encourage eco -friendly pilgrimage, but will also increase employment opportunities for the local people.
There will be a shortage in travel time
With the formation of ropeway, the time of travel to both pilgrimage sites will decrease. In addition, local businesses will benefit and will promote economic development in a very dependent field on tourism. Especially old and disabled people will get great relief from the ropeway. Talking about legal framework, Uttarakhand Ropeway Act, 2014 will provide a legal basis for licensing, operation, security and tariffs for the ropeway.