A day ahead of his travel to Uttarakhand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet approved two ropeway projects linking key religious places of the hill state. These projects will cost over Rs 6000 crore and will take six years to complete.
Ropeways covering 12.9 kilometres will link Sonprayag to Kedarnath, one of the 12 'Jyotirlingas' in the country. The second ropeway would link to Hemkund Sahib, which is a site revered by the Sikhs. The 12.4 km ropeway project from Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib will cost Rs. 2,730.13 crore.
#Cabinet approves development of Ropeway Project from Sonprayag to Kedarnath (12.9 km) in the State of Uttarakhand under National Ropeways Development Programme – Parvatmala Pariyojana
— PIB India (@PIB_India) March 5, 2025
The project will be developed on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) mode at… pic.twitter.com/i6UykRjUFe
Hemkund Sahib also serves as the gateway to the famous Valley of Flowers, a national park recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. For tourists, once complete it will vastly improve the travel experience and may even result in increased footfall.
Modi government has kept its focus on developing infrastructure along the popular religious sites. This serves the twin purpose of improving facilities where lakhs of pilgrims visit every year and also boosts the local economy.
Under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji, the Union Cabinet has approved the development of a 12.4 km ropeway 🚠 from Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib Ji in Uttarakhand under the National Ropeways Development Programme—Parvatmala Pariyojana.
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) March 5, 2025
Significantly… pic.twitter.com/IOm7cPQpK3
Giving information, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired approved the two projects.
Both these projects will be developed on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) mode. The Kedarnath project will incur capital cost of Rs. 4,081.28 crore.
"The Kedarnath ropeway will be developed in public-private partnership and based on the most advanced Tri-cable Detachable Gondola (3S) technology with a design capacity of 1,800 passengers per hour per direction (PPHPD) carrying 18,000 passengers per day," a cabinet statement said.
According to Vaishnaw, the ropeway will prove beneficial for the pilgrims as it would reduce travel time in one direction from about 8 to 9 hours to about 36 minutes in the case of Kedarnath.
The usual journey to Kedarnath temple is an arduous 16-km uphill trek from Gaurikund and is currently covered on foot or by ponies, palanquins and helicopters. The proposed ropeway will provide all-weather connectivity between Sonprayag and Kedarnath.
In the case of Hemkund Sahib, it is a 21-km uphill trek from Govindghat and is covered on foot or by ponies or palanquins. The proposed ropeway will not provide convenience only to pilgrims to Hemkund Sahib but also the tourists visiting the Valley of Flowers.
Cabinet approves ropeway project for Hemkund Sahib in Uttarakhand
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) March 5, 2025
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The Hemkund ropeway would have a slightly different system based on Monocable Detachable Gondola (MDG) from Govindghat to Ghangaria (10.55 km), and traceable detachable gondola (3S) technology from Ghangaria to Hemkund Sahib (1.85 km) with a design capacity of 1,100 passengers per hour per direction carrying 11,000 passengers per day.
The officials said the ropeway projects will generate substantial employment opportunities during construction and operations as well as in allied tourism industries like hospitality and travel.
