In a bid to reduce the rigour of tourists visiting Gaya, the civic body has cleared a proposal to connect Vishnupad with Sita Kund and Karbala with Ramshila through ropeway.

The Gaya Municipal Corporation (GMC) board and its standing committee have cleared the ambitious projects. The proposal has now been forwarded to the urban development department, seeking funds. The detailed project report would be prepared once the department clears it.

The estimated project cost of the ropeway between Vishnupad and Sita Kund is Rs 10 crore. The projected cost of that between Karbala and Ramshila is Rs 5 crore.

The ropeways in Gaya would be a big boost to tourism because lakhs of pilgrims visit the city every year, especially during the 17-day long Pitripaksh, to perform pinddaan (rituals for salvation of souls of ancestors) at Vishnupad. Devotees also offer pind at the Sitakund vedi (platform) on the eastern banks of Falgu river, around 500m east of Vishnupad.

People offer pind on Ramshila hill on the outskirts of the city, too. Devotees have to climb 400 stairs to reach the vedi on the top of the hill.

Hailing the GMC’s ropeway proposal, social activist Suresh Narayan said: “The Falgu riverbed mostly remains dry except in the rainy season. Devotees have to face hardship while crossing the river on foot as most of them are aged above 50.”

The corporation mayor, Vibha Devi, and her deputy Akhauri Onkarnath alias Mohan Shrivastava, have jointly sent a letter sent to the urban development minister, Prem Kumar, seeking his department’s clearance to the two ropeway projects. The letter states that Gaya, around 100km from Patna, is the second biggest city in Bihar, but it has not been developed from the tourism point of view. Tourist hubs like Gaya in other states are being developed at a rapid pace, it reads.

Welcoming the proposal, Kumar said: “The ropeway project would be implemented seriously because Gaya has religious and cultural importance.” He said Bodhgaya would also have a ropeway connecting it to Dhungeshwari hills. Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat had earlier mooted it.

Narayan, the social activist, advocated for a ropeway at Pretshila also. Devotees have to climb at least 676 stairs to offer pind on the top of the hill, around 12km northwest of Gaya town.

At present, ropeway facility is available in the state only in Rajgir, around 71km south of Patna.