Ayodhya: While construction of Ram temple picks up pace with brisk movement of carved marble to Ramjanmabhoomi premises, the state government is hammering out a blueprint to install a modern ropeway infrastructure straddling 13km from the airport to key tourist points in the town for seamless movement of pilgrims to the sprawling temple premises.
Four leading European ropeway-and-ski lift manufacturers have been shortlisted to implement the Rs 1,000-crore venture, considered a giant leap to decongest the ancient city crisscrossed by lanes and bylanes and make it ready for 1-crore pilgrim footfall when the temple comes up.
Austrian company and world’s leading ropeway manufacturer Doppelmayr Garaventa, French firm Poma Ropeways, Swiss company Bartholet and Italy-based Leitner Ropeways are in the fray to construct the circular ropeway, said, Ayodhya municipal commissioner Vishal Singh.
“Bolivia’s La Paz is a model where ropeways transformed a crawling transport system into a fast-paced city,” he said. Indian firms don’t have the technology to create a robust cabling system and passenger safety comes first, he said.
“We do not want a mishap in the holy city”, he said to a query on why foreign companies are being roped in.
The preliminary blueprint suggests that each cable car would accommodate 16 passengers with 3,000 commuters in each direction at a time. Ropeway stations would be set up at the airport, bus stand, Saryu banks, Ram Statue, Hanumangarhi, and Ramjanmabhoomi. “Maintenance cost is low and this would expedite pilgrim movement to the temple. The government will finalise the contract after due tendering process,” said the commissioner.
Four leading European ropeway-and-ski lift manufacturers have been shortlisted to implement the Rs 1,000-crore venture, considered a giant leap to decongest the ancient city crisscrossed by lanes and bylanes and make it ready for 1-crore pilgrim footfall when the temple comes up.
Austrian company and world’s leading ropeway manufacturer Doppelmayr Garaventa, French firm Poma Ropeways, Swiss company Bartholet and Italy-based Leitner Ropeways are in the fray to construct the circular ropeway, said, Ayodhya municipal commissioner Vishal Singh.
“Bolivia’s La Paz is a model where ropeways transformed a crawling transport system into a fast-paced city,” he said. Indian firms don’t have the technology to create a robust cabling system and passenger safety comes first, he said.
“We do not want a mishap in the holy city”, he said to a query on why foreign companies are being roped in.
The preliminary blueprint suggests that each cable car would accommodate 16 passengers with 3,000 commuters in each direction at a time. Ropeway stations would be set up at the airport, bus stand, Saryu banks, Ram Statue, Hanumangarhi, and Ramjanmabhoomi. “Maintenance cost is low and this would expedite pilgrim movement to the temple. The government will finalise the contract after due tendering process,” said the commissioner.