Contract Signed for Construction of Yamunotri Ropeway | 24 Feb 2023

Why In News?

On February 23, 2023, in the presence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj, a contract was signed between the tourism department of the state and the private construction company 'SRM Engineering and FIL Industry Private Limited' for the Yamunotri ropeway project.

Key points

• Proposed 3.38 km from Jankichatti (Kharsali) to Yamunotri Dham. Clearance has already been received from the Forest Ministry for the construction of long ropeway. The ropeway will be operated on PPP mode. About 167 crore rupees will be spent on this ropeway.
• Due to the construction of this ropeway, the devotees going to Yamunotri Dham will get six km. You will not have to climb on foot. You can reach Yamunotri in just 15 to 20 minutes by ropeway. It takes about three hours for the devotees to reach Yamunotri Dham situated at a height of about 11 thousand feet through the Jankichatti (Kharsali) pedestrian route.
• On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that after the completion of the rope-way project, Yamunotri Dham will be connected to its winter residence Kharsali, and the devotees will be able to reach Maa Yamuna easily and take advantage of pollution-free natural beauty. Along with providing facilities to the devotees, the employment resources of the people will increase at the local level as well.
• State Tourism Secretary Sachin Kurve said that this 3.38 km long ropeway to be built on PPP mode will be of monocable detachable type, which will be constructed according to European standards on the lines of France and Switzerland.
• The tourism secretary said that the passenger capacity of this ropeway would be to carry about 500 people in an hour while eight passengers would be able to go in one coach at a time. The lower terminal of the ropeway will be built on 1.787 hectares of land at Kharsali while the upper terminal will be built on 0.99 hectares of land at Yamunotri.