Government focus on ropeways: How will they help improve connectivity?

New Delhi: Ropeways, a medium of commute often utilised in hilly regions are now in focus in India. This comes after the government initiative to utilise it as a mode of transport in the hilly terrains of many states. The Central government has launched a programme titled "Parvatmala" for the development of ropeways across India, especially in hill regions/states of the country. The aim of the project is to facilitate last mile connectivity in the hilly regions of the country.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) led by PM Narendra Modi has approved 2 major ropeways in Uttarakhand under the "Parvatmala Scheme". While one ropeway wil be connecting Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib Ji, the second one will connect Sonprayag to Kedarnath. For the 12.4 km Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib Ji ropeway, the government has sanctioned Rs 2,730 crore, while the second ropeway is expected to cost Rs 4,081 crore.

The projects are to be executed under a Public Private Partnership Model (PPP). The aim of these ropeways is to improve connectivity to difficult terrains of the hill states. The government is promoting ropeways as a safe and efficient alternate means of transport. This is because other means of transport, like roadways, railways or even airways have their own challenges in these hill areas. While the development of roads in the hills is difficult, there are also limitations to airplanes as often the airports in the hill regions have smaller runways and landing often becomes dangerous. Therefore the government is trying to promote ropeways as a convenient and safe mode of transport to the people here.

Not only was money sanctioned for the ropeway projects in Uttarakhand, this project also found mention in the Budget 2022. It was during this Budget that the National Ropeways Development Programme – Parvatmala was announced. The project will be carried out by the National Highway Logistics Management Limited (NHLML).

The government aims to develop at least 250 ropeways, covering a total distance of 1200 kilometres in the next 5 years. These ropeways are being advertised as an alternative to roads in the hill states. The ropeways are an environment-friendly mode of transport, which are both cost and energy-efficient. Not only that, they are also reliable.

The government is promoting ropeways as a better mode of transport in the country. They said that these are economical as less land needs to be acquisition for ropeways, as compared to roads. Their maintenance cost is also lower. Not only are they economical, but also faster as compared to hill roads. They are also environment friendly as there is no pollution caused and help provide last mile connectivity.

The ropeway projects in India are basically being developed in at least 5 Indian states. The states are Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The government believes that these will help promote tourism in these states and also help locals. Both urban and rural connectivity will be enhanced through ropeways, said the government.

The government also highlighted the large-scale employment that the construction of the ropeways will generate in the hill states. Initially during the construction phase several labourers will be engaged and later once these are operational, technicians and other such workers including maintenance staff will be required to keep operations smooth.

1. Sonprayag-Kedarnath Ropeway Project

Length: 12.9 km

Cost: Rs 4,081.28 crore

Capacity: 1,800 passengers per hour per direction

2. Hemkund Sahib Ropeway Project

Length: 12.4 kilometre

Cost: Rs 2,730.13 crore

Capacity: 11,000 passengers daily

Major ropeway projects under construction under Parvatmala Scheme

1. Varanasi Urban Ropeway

Length: 3.85 kilometre

Passenger capacity: 96,000 per day

2. Gaurikund-Kedarnath Ropeway

Length: 9.7 kilometre

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Apart from these bids have also been invited for ropeway projects in Bijli Mahadev in Himachal Pradesh, Dhosi Hill in Haryana and Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh. The length of all three is expected to be 4.93 kilometers each.