Work on Mussoorie-Dehradun ropeway project to begin by May 15

Work on the ambitious Mussoorie-Dehradun ropeway project, one of the longest in Uttarakhand covering a distance of 11 km between the two tourist hotspots will begin by May 15, official sources said here today.
"The state government has directed officials to remove all bottlenecks in this regard at the earliest and begin work on the project by May 15," Tourism Secretary Umakant Panwar told PTI here.
"Covering a distance of 11 km between the two major tourist destinations in the hill state, the ropeway will be built at a cost of nearly Rs 800 crore," Panwar said.
The ropeway will be located at a height of 15 to 40 metres and its construction will not cause any damage to trees along its route, the official said.

Chief secretary Alok Kumar Jain held a review meeting on the project with officials concerned and instructed them that the land earmarked for the project from Purkul to Hathipaon and from Hathipaon to the Library (Mussoorie) should be demarcated by measuring it physically.
Taking serious note of the delay in the project which will give a major boost to tourism in the state, Jain asked officials to speed up the process of acquiring forest department clearances for the project, Panwar said.

Strict action would be taken against officials found responsible for any more delay, he warned.
It was decided at the meeting that work would begin in the first phase on the stretch from Hathipaon to Library and in the second phase, the ropeway from Purkul to Hathipaon will be constructed.

Simultaneously, the development of basic amenities and terminal at Purkul village will go on.