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Ropeway project: Residents of Bijli Mahadev to hold protest on July 25
Bijli Mahadev Sangharsh Samiti (BMRSS) on Sunday started a village-to-village campaign to mobilise residents for an upcoming protest against the project on July 25
The Union government’s Bijli Mahadev ropeway project in Kullu is facing opposition with the people pressing for scrapping the project.
Bijli Mahadev Sangharsh Samiti (BMRSS) on Sunday started a village-to-village campaign to mobilise residents for an upcoming protest against the project on July 25.
The Bijli Mahadev ropeway project is a Union government project under the Parvatmala Yojana, also known as the National Ropeways Development Programme — designed to offer a sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional road transport in hilly areas. The project is to be built at an estimated cost of ₹284 crore with a capacity of 36,000 passenger trips per day. The project, funded by the Centre, is being executed by the National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML).
The project has secured stage-1 in-principal permission from the environment ministry. The project developer has already submitted the costs, including of trees to be cut, and the environmental compensation for the forest land to be diverted for the project.
Already nine panchayats of the area have come out in open demanding cancellation of its construction, citing “deities orders”. The protest gained momentum after 67 full grown deodar trees were axed in the area earlier this month.
The residents of Kharal valley, which lies at the foothills of the Bijli Mahadev temple have been holding protests against the project, saying that the 2.4-km-long ropeway project would destroy the hill of Bijli Mahadev, pointing towards the cracking up at several places.
Even the public works department minister Vikramaditya Singh recently shared a post on Facebook seeking citizens’ opinion on the ropeway project.
BMRSS president Suresh Negi said, “Our ongoing campaign is taking the shape of a mass movement against the ropeway project, which the government is pushing for ignoring the faith of the people as well as environmental concerns. Even Lord Bijli Mahadev has said no to this project but still the government is adamant.”
“We do not want the ropeway project, which is sure to destroy our sacred place of faith by converting it into a tourist spot. We have already met with the chief minister as well as Union ministers voicing our concerns over the project but no one is listening” said Negi.
As per the project details, a total of 203 trees will be cut and around 3.1 hectares of forest land will be diverted for the project.
Meanwhile, Kullu MLA Sunder Singh Thakur said, “This is a project of the Union government and the state government is only helping in the same. The protest, if any, needs to be held in Delhi, and not Kullu”.
He said, “The project was earlier 3.2 km but now it is 2.3 km and it is in the forest land. Respecting the sentiments of the people, the length of the ropeway was reduced so that it does not fall in the temple area.”
Terming the protest politically motivated, he said, “The protest is being held by people who are against development and doing politics in garb of the deity.”
What is the project
Union minister Nitin Gadkari had laid the foundation of the ropeway project in March 2024.
The 2.3 km long ropeway project is expected to reduce journey of 3-4 hours to seven minutes. The project will provide all weather connectivity. It is being executed by NHLML and the project is expected to be completed by year 2026.
