Centre earmarks Rs 200 crore for Bijli Mahadev ropeway in Kullu

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, May 3

The Central Government has earmarked Rs 200 crore for the Bijli Mahadev ropeway in Kullu, a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, under the ambitious Parvatmala scheme.

Unique phenomenon

• This pilgrimage site is well known for its unique natural phenomenon.
• It is said that periodically lightning strikes the temple during the rainy season, which splits the shivling into pieces
• These pieces are put together by temple priest and covered with butter
• The image is restored to its original shape till another similar flash takes place
• It is for the periodic bolts of lightning (bijli) around the shrine, from which Shiva (Mahadev) is believed to save his devotees, that this place is known as Bijli Mahadev

10 km from Kullu

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• Situated at 2,438 metres (8,000 ft), the Bijli Mahadev shrine is 10 km from Kullu across the Beas river
• The temple is located opposite the town on top of a hillcrest

Recently, in the presence of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to construct seven ropeway projects in Himachal at a cost of Rs 3,232 crore was signed between Highways Logistics Management Limited and Ropeways and Rapid Transport System Development Corporation HP Ltd, the nodal agency of the Himachal Government.

The government has been planning to build the 3-km Bijli Mahadev ropeway for a long time. Its construction will attract more tourists to Bijli Mahadev. The people of the valley say that the construction of the ropeway will increase the tourism business and create jobs.

A large number of pilgrims visit Bijli Mahadev to pay obeisance to the Shivlingam situated on the top of the mountain.

Meanwhile, environmentalists have apprehensions about the adverse impact of the ropeway. The visitor influx will increase and adequate arrangements should be made to preserve the fragile ecology of the region. They say that the company, operating the ropeway, should be made liable for clearing and disposing of garbage in a scientific manner to maintain the sanctity of the region and there should be a provision of strict penalty for violation.

Abhishek Rai, president, Himalayan Environment Conservation Organisation, says that the alignment of the ropeway should be such that a minimum number of trees face axe.