Ropeways provide fast and last mile connectivity to hilly and

inaccessible areas.
Developing an efficient transport network is a big challenge, especially in the
hilly terrains and inaccessible areas. Creating a transport network in the
hilly/inaccessible areas using conventional modes of transportation, i.e., road,
rail, and air has multiple technical challenges. Additionally, a majority of
India’s population is concentrated in the towns / cities, thus stretching the
existing transport infrastructure to its limits. Hence, there is a need to de-
congest such locations through use of safe, innovative, and economical
modes of transportation.
Ropeways have emerged as a convenient, safe and preferred mode of
transportation to provide both fast as well as last mile connectivity to such
hilly and inaccessible areas or help de-congest urban congested areas.
In this backdrop, the Centre is giving a major push to ropeway development
in the country. Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the
foundation stone of two new ropeway projects connecting Gaurikund to
Kedarnath and Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib in Uttarakhand. The ropeway
in Kedarnath will be around 9.7 km in length and will connect Gaurikund to
Kedarnath, thereby reducing travel time between the two places from 6-
7 hours