Longest river ropeway, across Brahmaputra, opens in Guwahati

Every day, hundreds of people cross the Brahmaputra using ferries, but the service gets discontinued for several days during peak monsoon, when the water level in the river crosses the danger mark

India’s longest river crossing ropeway — across river Brahmaputra — was opened to the public on Monday, nearly 11 years after work on it was started.

The 1.8-kilometre-long ropeway, built at a cost of ₹56 crore, extending from central to northern Guwahati, will reduce travel time between both banks to just eight minutes. (HT Photo)

The 1.8-kilometre-long ropeway, built at a cost of ₹56 crore, extending from central to northern Guwahati, will reduce travel time between both banks to just eight minutes.

The ropeway was inaugurated by finance, PWD, education and health minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma. Development minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya and member of Parliament Queen Ojah were also present.

“It is a matter of pride and satisfaction that we now have the longest river crossing ropeway in India in our state. This is also the first ropeway in the state,” said Sarma after the inauguration.

Every day, hundreds of people cross the Brahmaputra using ferries, but the service gets discontinued for several days during peak monsoon, when the water level in the river crosses the danger mark. Inauguration of the ropeway will address that problem.

Each cabin on the ropeway will be able to ferry 30 passengers at a go and nearly 250 persons would be able to cross the river every hour. However, due to Covid-19 protocols in place, only 15 passengers would be allowed per commute for the time being.

The ropeway, which operates on a twin-track, single-haul, bi-cable double reversible jig back system, was constructed by Kolkata-based Samir Damodar Ropeways, with technical and logistical support from Swiss firms.

The project was cleared by the state government in March 2006 at a cost of Rs28 crore and work on it started in December 2009. However, the work came to a halt in 2011 as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) objected to it, saying it posed threat to Urvashi island on the Brahmaputra.

After obtaining necessary clearances in 2015, work on the project restarted in 2017. A trial run of the ropeway was conducted in March before the Covid-19 restrictions came into place.