Cable car scare

EVEN as all 11 tourists trapped in the cable car that got stuck mid-air when its shaft broke in Parwanoo’s popular Timber Trail were thankfully rescued by the six-hour bold operation by the courageous teams of the NDRF and the local administration, one cannot shrug off the terrifying episode with the usual all’s-well-that-ends-well attitude. Any activity that endangers people’s lives, including the elderly and not-so healthy, must have foolproof safety measures and their regular audit in place. With their lives literally hanging by the rope above a deep gorge, the panicky victims showed immense courage and patience — a must at such times — as they waited to be hauled out to safety. Though it’s been 30 years since the horrifying 1992 ropeway glitch at the same resort in which a man jumped out to his death in panic, the two-day heroic operation mounted by the Army and Air Force personnel — who went on to win peacetime gallantry medals — to save the passengers is still fresh in the locals’ memory.

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But this latest jolt, sadly, points to the resort having become complacent about maintaining the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for running the ropeway. It comes months after a similar Jharkhand accident in April. Three of the nearly 60 persons stuck in the Trikut hills of Deoghar, unfortunately, died during the evacuation by IAF helicopters. Such mishaps underscore scrupulous adherence to the protocol for secure cable cars. Any laxity in the government-mandated SOPs, contingency plans for operating ropeways, safety audits and periodic mock drills for handling emergencies can come at a heavy cost.

The implementation of these measures assumes more significance in Himachal Pradesh as it is on the verge of a multi-crore expansion of the ropeway transportation system in Shimla, Manali and Dharamsala. However, without safety protocol, the cable cars’ benefits of being all-weather, cheaper and faster modes of transportation hold little attraction. The plan of decongesting the state of traffic or cutting travel time by expanding cable cars will succeed only when passengers are sure of safety.