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Prime Minister inaugurated ropeway project on Mount Girnar
About the ropeway project
- The project was first proposed by the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) in 1983 which suggested the diversion of about 9.1 hectares of forest land.
- In 1994, the Government of Gujarat finalised diversion of the forest land and the compensatory forest land was granted near Toraniya village
- The project had to face lot of objection in between 1994-2002
- The work resumed in 2002 after sorting the objections and the land was acquired in 2007
- As the project was located within the Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park, the wildlife clearance was granted by the National Board for Wildlife in 2011 while the environmental clearance was granted in 2016.
- The ropeway was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 130 crore which included the construction of the lower and upper terminals as well as nine poles supporting the rope.
- It operates mono-cable gondola detachable type lifts.
- Nine towers have been erected between Bhavnath Taleti and Ambaji Temple, the highest being 66-metre on the thousandth step of Girnar
- It takes passengers 850 metres (2,800 ft) above the hill to the Amba temple. Initially, there will be 25-30 cabins, with a capacity of eight passengers each.
- It can carry 1,000 passengers per hour but operates at a capacity of 800 passengers per hour and 8000 per day.
- In one run, 192 passengers will be able to travel.
- A distance of 2.3 km will now be covered in just 7.5 minutes through the ropeway.
- The construction was completed on 17 October 2020
- The project has been given to Usha Breco on BOT (build-operate and transfer) basis on a lease period of 98 years.
Source: Times now
