2 years on, Kasauli-Jabli ropeway project fails to find any takers

Ambika Sharma

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Solan, November 6

Mooted around two years ago, the 3.88-km-long ropeway project that was slated to reduce distance between Kasauli and Jabli on the Parwanoo-Dharampur National Highway-5, has failed to find any takers.

Though few bidders had evinced interest after tenders were floated last year, they did not take up the project owing to several concerns. The Rapid Transport System Development Corporation (RTDC), which is pursuing the project, had extended the last date for the tender allotment several times to facilitate promoters but to no avail.

RTDC Director Ajay Sharma says, “Other states extend lucrative incentives for ropeway projects like 60 per cent capital equity. The promoters, who have evinced interest in the ropeway project here, are also demanding similar terms and conditions. Himachal being a hilly state, it is not possible to accept similar terms and conditions. The RTDC is now exploring other options like giving a presentation at an upcoming investors meet in Mumbai on November 24.”

The safety of the ropeway has been a cause for concern. The state’s first cable car at Timber Trail Heights near Parwanoo was launched in April 1988 at a height of about 5,200 feet above the sea level.

Eleven people, including five women, were stranded for hours after a cable car was stuck mid-air at Timber Trail Resorts in June last year. However, all of them were rescued after a six-hour operation.

A shaft holding the cable car had broken but it was attributed to wear and tear, as per the forensic science lab report. Both ropes holding the cable car were found intact. A magisterial inquiry report, submitted to the state government on July 2, too, had ruled out laxity on the part of the management.

It was the second such incident in the past 30 years. Earlier in October 1992, 10 tourists were stuck for hours after the haulage cable of a car broke and it started sliding backwards just before it was about to dock. The operator was killed after he jumped out of the cable car at an elevation of nearly 2,500 feet and his head hit a rock.

The cable car had stopped midway and kept hanging in the middle of the ropeway above the Kaushalya river. The Indian Air Force and the Army carried out a joint operation to rescue the 10 stranded tourists. The services of the helicopter base at Sarsawa in Uttar Pradesh and the para commando unit at Nahan were also taken to rescue the tourists.