Defunct ropeway lets down vacationers flocking Hirakud
By Express News Service
SAMBALPUR: The excessive season has kicked-off with the arrival of winter, however vacationers flocking Hirakud Dam are leaving the place disenchanted with the key attraction – the ropeway- mendacity defunct for the final greater than a month.
File picture of the ropeway | ExpressThe ropeway connecting Jawahar Udyan with Gandhi Minar at Hirakud, grew to become a success with the vacationers because it was launched in 2019. However, the service was stopped from October 10 this 12 months resulting from technical glitches and has been mendacity unused since then. After being disrupted because of the first and second Covid waves in 2020 and 2021, the ropeway service was resumed on August 15 this 12 months.
Enforcement officer of Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) Subhankar Mohanty mentioned the ropeway service has been closed for restore works. There is a necessity for splicing the ropes which have loosened up. The restore work shall be carried out at an estimated price of `1.5 lakh. The work order has already been issued to Damodar Ropeways and Infra Limited (DRIL), the agency which has been entrusted with the upkeep of the ropeway. The restore work will begin quickly.
Mohanty additional knowledgeable that there’s additionally a necessity for altering the hanger of some trolleys. However, it is going to be reviewed solely after the rope splicing work is over. However, official sources at SMC knowledgeable that the companies might not resume quickly after upkeep as DRIL shouldn’t be excited by working the ropeway resulting from dues pending with Odisha Construction Corporation Limited (OCCL).
Reportedly, the OCCL, which carried out the ropeway venture, had agreed to pay a set quantity to DRIL in direction of its operation. However, the company has not cleared the dues for the reason that final a number of months citing scarcity of funds and this has led to a dispute with DRIL.
Launched on November 26, 2019, the ropeway supplies vacationers a chook eye view of the huge reservoir and the dam whereas going up from Jawahar Udyan, a ravishing park, to the Gandhi Minar watch tower. Currently, it’s working with 12 trolleys. Around 500-700 vacationers used the ropeway on typical days and the quantity went as much as 1,000 throughout weekends and the excessive season.
