Reaching 1.82 kilometers, the longest cable car ropeway is going to be built across a river connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati. On 24th August 2020, the ropeway across the Brahmaputra River and crossing the Urvashi Island was inaugurated in Assam. The commuters will also be able to sight the famous Umananda Temple on Peacock Island while traveling by the ropeway.
The Education, Finance, and Health Minister of Assam – Himanta Biswa Sarma mentioned that normally the ropeway service would be built in mountainous areas but the ropeway being built in Guwahati will be the first to be built over a river in India. The cost of building the ropeway is a steep Rs. 56.8 crores.
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Features of the River Ropeway
It will cover a distance of 8-9 minutes now as compared to earlier when it would take over an hour or more, especially during the rainy season and floods.
There will be 2 cabins which can carry up to 32 passengers each at a time across the ropeway. But given the measures and protocols issued for COVID-19, the cabins will only carry up to 15 people for the time being as announced by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority who is executing this project.
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The construction of the ropeway began in 2006 but was unfortunately stalled in 2011 due to technical reasons. The aim to restart and built the ropeway is to provide benefit to those living in the Northern regions of Assam, Guwahati and the main commercial hub of the rest of Northeast India as the people suffer during the monsoon season as the ferry services are suspended on the Brahmaputra river and traveling by road costs and takes too much time.
The Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority Officials have provided that the ropeway is being built using state-of-the-art technology and that careful measures are being taken to protect and maintain the beauty of the place while also being ecologically sustainable by using electric power. Further, the priority remains at providing the passengers with a means of transport that is not only eco-friendly, comfortable, convenient, and efficient in terms of speed. This step is expected to boost the city’s tourism.
