The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has invited tenders to build a new ropeway from Brahmagiri to Anjaneri Hills in Trimbakeshwar at Nashik in Maharashtra.
Trimbakeshwar, located about 30 km from Nashik city, hosts one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples. While Brahmagiri is the origin of the Godavari River, Anjaneri is believed by some to be the birthplace of Lord Hanuman.
The ropeway will connect both these important places atop the respective hills, which are separated by a distance of around 7 km.
The 5.76-km-long ropeway, will start close to Ghoti Trimbak Road on NH 160A and will have two independent sections.
The Section 1 (Valley Station to Brahmagiri Hill) with 20 towers will extend south-west from the starting point to the top of Brahmagiri mountain, whereas the Section 2 (Valley Station to Anjaneri Hill) with eight towers will head into south-east direction to the top of Anjaneri mountain.
The horizontal length of the ropeway project is 3.93 km for Section 1 and 1.79 for Section 2, with a total of four stations proposed on the ropeway alignment.
To be designed on Monocable Detachable Gondola (MDG) technology, the ropeway system shall have an operational speed of 6 metres per second.
As per the bid document, the ropeway system shall be designed for a maximum capacity of 1,500 passengers per hour per direction (PPHPD), with initial capacity of 1000 PPHPD foreseen.
The “Brahmagiri Anjaneri Hills Ropeway” shall be developed on PPP model under design, build, operate and transfer (DBOT basis) with an investment of Rs 376.73 crore.
The selected concessionaire shall be required to construct the ropeway in 24 months and will have the exclusive right to operate and maintain the project for 15 years commencing from commercial operation date.
Connecting the two destinations will provide numerous benefits to the pilgrims. Currently, they have to trek one mountain for a day and then spend another day trekking the second mountain.
By establishing a connection between the two places, the journey time will be reduced significantly. Moreover, it will provide the pilgrims with an exotic view of the Western Ghats that is sure to leave them awestruck.
