Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, renowned for transforming ground connectivity, is now aiming for the skies. Venturing into remote areas where road access is challenging, Gadkari has initiated a groundbreaking plan to establish air routes, with an allocated budget of Rs 1.25 lakh crore over the next five years.
Under the National Ropeway Development Programme, a component of the larger Parvatmala project, Gadkari aims to construct 200 ropeway projects nationwide. This ambitious endeavor, spanning five years, will be financed through a combination of government funds and contributions from private companies, employing a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Gadkari envisions ropeways not only enhancing tourism in hilly regions but also serving as a convenient mode of transportation in urban areas. He believes that ropeway construction has the potential to significantly boost tourism, create job opportunities, and alleviate traffic congestion.
The scale of the project is unprecedented, with approximately 1,200 kilometers of ropeway slated for construction, making it the world’s largest ropeway project. Given that 30 percent of the country is characterized by challenging mountainous and forested terrain, ropeways provide a viable solution where traditional road or rail development is impractical.
Nitin Gadkari highlighted ongoing challenging projects, including ropeways in difficult-to-access mountainous routes such as Hemkund Sahib, Kedarnath, and Badrinath. The Kedarnath ropeway, standing at an elevation of 3,600 meters and spanning 10 kilometers, is designed to transport 3,600 people per hour. Additionally, efforts are underway to introduce the country’s first urban ropeway in Varanasi, covering a distance of 4 kilometers and significantly reducing travel time from one hour to just 15 minutes.