At least 60 people, including a BJP MLA from Uttarakhand, were stuck in the air for 45 minutes in a cable car due to a technical snag. All 60 have now been rescued from a trolley stuck on the Surkanda Devi temple ropeway in Tehri district.
Tehri Garhwal SSP Navneet Bhullar told ANI, “All the passengers have come out safely and the ropeway is running smoothly now. No passenger is trapped in the trolley.”
On the other hand, BJP MLA Kishor Upadhyay said that ropeway getting stuck in mid-air is a serious issue. “We cannot put anyone’s life in danger. I will discuss this with the ropeway operators and the authorities concerned,” he said.
He further said that the administration should ensure that such an incident does not happen again.
A similar incident took place in May, nearly an hour after pilgrims going to the goddess ‘Sharda’ temple located on top of a hill in Maihar town of Satna district in Madhya Pradesh were rescued after being trapped in cable cars.
In June, a total of 11 people were stranded for hours after a cable car got stuck in the air at Parwanoo Timber Trail in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district. He was rescued after a six-hour long operation by the NDRF and other agencies.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the NDRF launched a nationwide survey to find out potential safety lapses in passenger cable cars and ropeway systems and draw up a structural blueprint.
“We have started a survey to understand the operation of all passenger ropeway and cable car systems in the country and suggest remedial action. There are more than 50 such systems in India that can be used for transportation of pilgrims, tourists and passengers. NDRF Director General (DG) Atul Karwal said.
“The aim of the exercise is not only to make the operators of this mode of transport aware of the precautions to be taken by them and their preparedness, but it will also give us an action plan that can be used during emergencies and disasters. ropeway system,” he said.
(with agency input)
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