India’s longest river ropeway of 1.82km which is connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati over the Brahmaputra river in Assam is now open. Was inaugurated on Monday, Aug 24, 2020.
The Ropeway is expected to boost tourism in the region.
The ropeway would be crossing the Urvashi island and the travelers going out there will catch a glimpse of the Umananda Temple on Peacock Island, which was built by Ahom King Gadadhar Singha.
While launching the ropeway service, Assam Health, Finance, and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that generally ropeway is built in the mountainous areas, but the Guwahati ropeway is the first ropeway in India over a river built at a cost of Rs 56.8 crore.
The ropeway would cover the distance now in 8-9 minutes, which earlier used to take more than an hour, and during the floods, it took more time.
The cable car consists of two cabins, each with a capacity of 32 passengers and will currently only carry 15 people according to the Covid-19 protocol, according to the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), which carried out the project.
This ropeway project was begun in 2006 but was virtually abandoned after 2011.
The service would benefit people, especially those living in northern regions of Guwahati, Assam’s and northeast India’s main commercial hub.
“People living in northern vicinity of Guwahati suffer a lot during the monsoon flood when the ferry services remain suspended on the Brahmaputra. Travel by road to reach main city of Guwahati takes up too much time and cost during the flood,” Sarma said.
He said: “We had started the ropeway project in 2006 aiming to complete it by 2011. Some technical issues cropped up then. The Archaeological Survey of India had pointed out to introduce some new rules vis-A-vis ropeway construction. After necessary clearance, the work resumed. It had even reached the Gauhati High Court.
“We resumed the work when I got the responsibility of GMDA in 2016 after becoming minister in the BJP led ministry.”
GMDA officials said that the ropeway has been built as per state of art technology following relevant Indian and international standards. “The ropeway is a convenient and non-polluting means of transport, as well as a source of environmentally friendly tourism.
“It is ecologically sustainable as it is run by electric power protecting the beauty of the area, while simultaneously providing passengers with a comfortable and speedy means of travel,” an official statement said.
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