Bihar CM inaugurates Mandar ropeway

Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday inaugurated the much-awaited ropeway at Mandar hills in Banka, developed by the state tourism for worth over ₹9 crore

Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday inaugurated the much-awaited ropeway at Mandar hills in Banka, developed by the state tourism for worth over ₹9 crore.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar inaugurates a newly constructed Mandar ropeway in Banka district on Tuesday. (PTI)

The Mandar ropeway is the second such facility in Bihar. The travel length of the Mandar ropeway is 377.36 metres and it can cover the distance from the station at the base to the top of the hill within four minutes approximately. The airlift facility has eight cabins with the capacity of four persons at a time.

After reaching the top of Mandar hill in the newly developed cabin ropeway, the CM said there had been a demand for a ropeway at Mandar hill for a long time. “It is over 700- metres high and atop the hill, there are many shrines. Pilgrims have been interested in visiting the temples. However, it’s difficult for senior citizens to travel that far. It used to take more than an hour to reach the top. I too couldn’t go there during my last visit to Banka,” he said.

But now, as the ropeway has been developed, it will take hardly four minutes to reach there. It will draw more tourists to Mandar, he said.

The chief minister said that considering the high flow of tourists, better tourism amenities have been planned at Mandar too. “The existing guest house for visitors would be expanded and the entire area from the base to the top of Mandar hill would have better light arrangements,” he said. Besides, a pathway would be developed too around Mandar hill for Parikrama. “Special care would be taken to keep intact the archaeological structures and antiquities available in the area,” he said.

Deputy chief minister Tarkishor Prasad, also present at the site, said that Banka has a great religious and heritage value. The current government has been committed to develop the place and bring out its tourism potential.

Sanjay Kumar Jha, the water resources minister, said the ropeway has enhanced the tourism facility at Mandar and it would woo more domestic and foreign tourists to the site.

Meanwhile, chief minister Nitish Kumar also laid foundation stones of a biodiversity park planned near Mandar hill in Banka on Tuesday. Not just that, he also visited the Odhani dam over the Odhani river, a tributary of the Chandan River in Banka and directed the officials to develop tourist facilities at the Odhani dam reservoir and improve greenery around the lake.

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