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Magisterial probe into Parwanoo cable car incident to be completed within the week
A day after 11 tourists were stuck mid-air in a cable car at Timber Trail in Parwanoo, the state government set a seven-day deadline for the completion of the magisterial probe
A day after 11 tourists were stuck mid-air in a cable car at Timber Trail in Parwanoo, the state government on Tuesday set a seven-day deadline for the completion of the magisterial probe.
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur had on Monday ordered a magisterial probe to ascertain the reason behind the cable car developing a technical snag. Solan deputy commissioner Kritika Kulhari said, “We have received orders from the government. Solan additional deputy commissioner Zafar Iqbal will conduct the probe. A team of officials will visit the resort to gather information about the incident.”
FIR against resort management
Police have booked the Timber Trail Resort Management under Section 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A case was registered on the statement of Anand Goyal, a resident of Vivek Vihar in Delhi, who was among the stranded persons.
Goyal, in his statement to the police, alleged that the incident took place due to negligence of the resort’s management. The 11 tourists, all of whom were from Delhi, were on their way from the Timber Trail Resort (2,000 ft above sea level) to Timber Train Heights and Terrace Resort (5,000 ft above sea level) when their cable car got stick midway. It took around six hours to rescue the stranded persons. Ordinarily, the 2.8km ride over the Kaushalya river, flowing through a deep gorge in the Shivalik range, takes little over 10 minutes.
The cable car had also made headlines in 1992 when 11 passengers, mostly couples, were stuck mid air after a cable broke near the docking station. The operator of the cable car jumped from a height of 1,500 feet and daied after hitting his head on the rock. The Indian Air Force was called in to rescue to the stranded passengers. It had taken three days to evacuate the stranded passengers.
