Aimed at giving a fillip to the tourism and ease traffic problems, the aerial ropeway connecting Dharamshala and McLeodganj would be inaugurated by chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on January 19, Dharamshala MLA Vishal Nehria said on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference here, Nehria said apart from the ropeway, the chief minister would also inaugurate a war museum and two parking lots near the deputy commissioner’s office and a new building of the Regional Forensic Science Lab.
Envisaged in 2013, the ropeway project got final approval from the government on February 13, 2015, and the letter of intent was issued in favour of Tata Realty and Infrastructure Limited in the same year.
The foundation stone of the project was laid on January 16, 2016, by the then chief minister Virbhadra Singh.
The project was supposed to come up by the end of 2018 but was missed the deadline due to the delay in forest clearances which came on June 1, 2017.
A total of 2.24 hectares of land was earmarked for the ropeway project out of which 1.69-hectare was forestland. As many as 439 trees were felled for the project.
{{/usCountry}}A total of 2.24 hectares of land was earmarked for the ropeway project out of which 1.69-hectare was forestland. As many as 439 trees were felled for the project.
{{/usCountry}}The Mono-cable Detachable Gondola (cabin) System ropeway with 18-24 cabins and capacity of ferrying 1,000 persons per hour, was expected to be operational in June 2020 but was again delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Nehria said the clearance under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) for the Dharamshala bus stand has also been received and the work on the project would start soon. He said the Dharamshala bus stand would be the first terminal in the state to have a charging station for electric buses.
He said a ₹300-crore international convention centre is also proposed to come up in the hill town which will further boost tourism activities in the state.