Patna, May 21: The cable ride to Vishwa Shanti Stupa atop Ratnagiri hills at Rajgir would soon be a cool affair with the installation of detachable cabin ropeway.

The expert assessment committee of ministry of environment, forests and climate change today approved a proposal in this regard in a meeting in Delhi. The new ropeway would run parallel to the existing chairlift ropeway at Ratnagiri hills under the Pant Wildlife Sanctuary.

"The environment clearance for the new ropeway at Rajgir, adjacent to the old one, was accorded today by the expert appraisal committee of ministry of environment, forests and climate change. The existing ropeway would be maintained as heritage and used in emergency," said Vivek Kumar Singh, principal secretary, state environment and forests department.

The presentation for the new ropeway before the central committee was made by Deepak Prasad, the principal secretary of the tourism department, forest department principal secretary Vivek Kumar Singh and Md Sohail, managing director, Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC).

"The new ropeway would be similar to the one at Gulmarg. The work would start after wild life clearance by the Supreme Court, for which a petition has been filed," said Sohail.

Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation sources informed that the length of the proposed ropeway would be 190m and would have 22 cabins. It would make one round between the lower and the upper base in 4.1 minutes. Each cabin would accommodate four persons. (See graphic)

The new detachable ropeway is expected to be more comfortable than the existing chairlift ropeway.

While the existing chairlifts continuously run from one station to another and people hop in and out, the new ropeway would have a detachable system. Also, the angst while travelling alone in open chairlifts would not be there in detachable cabin ropeway.

A detachable system means that the cabins would detach at both the stations for allowing people to get in and out, before they again start the journey to the other end. Similar cabin ropeways are in place in Sikkim and Deoghar in Jharkhand.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar had made the announcement for the new ropeway during the 42nd anniversary of the Vishwa Shanti Stupa on October 25, 2011. The ropeway project was conceptualised by the state tourism department and BSTDC - a wing of the tourism department - is the executing agency for the project.

The detailed project report for the new ropeway has been prepared by Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) Limited, which has given an estimated project cost of around Rs 20 crore and project period of two-and-a-half years.

The standing committee of the Bihar State Board for Wildlife gave its nod for the new ropeway in its meeting held on February 25, 2012. Later, the standing committee of National Board for Wildlife cleared the proposal in a meeting on August 12-13, 2014.

The existing ropeway having 101 chairs and covering the height of over 1,000 feet, was gifted by the government of Japan around 40 years ago, soon after the establishment of Vishwa Shanti Stupa.

Cabin ropeway

Salient features of the new ropeway

Position: Adjacent to the existing ropeway at Ratnagiri hills which has Vishwa Shanti Stupa atop

Vertical length: 190m

Type: Gandola detachable cabin

No. of cabins: 22

Seating capacity of each cabin: 4

Travel-time (one-way): 4.1 minutes

Transport capacity: 800 persons per hour

Project cost: Rs. 20cr (approx.)

Project period: 2.5 years