Guwahati: Ropeway over Brahmaputra delayed by few more months

The much awaited Guwahati ropeway across the Brahmaputra river will miss its February deadline and will now take a few more months before it opens for public, according to official sources.

The long-pending passenger ropeway project connecting the two banks of the Brahmaputra was expected to be completed by February 2019 as claimed by GMDA officials in 2018.

However, it is still under construction and could only open for public after the completion of trails runs, which officials say is expected to take a few months to complete.

Sharing details of the project, Ashok Singhal, Chairman of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) told ANI, "The ropeway project had started in 2009 and some technical issues popped up in between. A pillar tilted at first and later there was an issue with the archeological department due to which the project had to be stopped. But after the formation of the new state government, the project has begun to pick up pace and we feel that we will be able to commission the project in the next four months."

On being asked about speculations of it being inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his next visit to the state, Singhal said, "The project is in the construction stage and there is no plan of it being inaugurated by the Prime Minister as of now. It is not on the agenda of his visit and I don't know from where these speculations have emerged from."

Singhal also said that the project is being completed at a cost of about Rs 52-Rs 53 crore and most of the work has been completed.

"Dry run with trolley has started and will go on for three months. A total of 24 people including the crew will be able to commute in a single cabin trolley," he added.

The ropeway project was earlier scheduled to be commissioned by May 2011 with a private limited company being awarded the construction work on a turnkey design and execution basis. The construction work was stopped by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in February, 2011. Permission for tilt rectification of well foundation number 2 (Pillar 2) was not given at Urvashi Island.

The GMDA secured the permission in 2015, but with a condition of relocating the pillar (T-2) beyond 300 metres of Urvashi Island.

Accordingly, the pillar was constructed at the south bank (near Kamrup Metro Deputy Commissioner's office), and construction work on the four other pillars have also been also completed, according to a GMDA source.