Govt clears ropeways at 2 U'khand religious sites

The Union cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the construction of ropeways at Kedarnath and Hemkunt Sahib in Uttarakhand, in a move that will significantly cut travel time to the two popular pilgrimage sites.

- Soumya Chatterjee

NEW DELHI:

Both will be complete in four to six years and built at a combined cost of ₹6,811 crore, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said during a press briefing. The 12.9km ropeway at Kedarnath will begin at Sonprayag, 16km away on foot, and have a stop at Gaurikund. The 12.4km Hemkunt Sahib project will start at Govindghat and stop at Hemkunt Sahib with a halt at Ghangaria in between.

A government release said, "The ropeway project will be a boon to the pilgrims visiting Kedarnath as it would provide an environment-friendly, comfortable and fast connectivity and reduce travel time in one direction from about 8 to 9 hours to about 36 minutes."

"Currently the yatra, which is active only for two months, will increase to six months. Our disabled and elderly will be the major beneficiaries of the project," Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said during his interaction with reporters post the cabinet meeting.