India’s “longest” river ropeway has been opened! Recently, the state government of Assam has inaugurated a 1.8 km ropeway across the river Brahmaputra and described it as the country’s longest river ropeway. Every day, many people commute between the capital city of Guwahati and North Guwahati town, where IIT Guwahati is situated. The newly inaugurated ropeway cuts journey time between the two banks to around eight minutes, according to an IE report. Between the two banks, the current travel options are by ferry (half an hour or more, depending on the season and current) or by road through a bridge that generally takes more than an hour in the traffic.
The CEO of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, Umananda Doley was quoted in the report saying that on the ropeway, one-way travel will take around nine to ten minutes. So if a person can complete a round trip between Guwahati and North Guwahati in just 20 minutes, it will be highly beneficial.
According to Doley, the ropeway can be used by tourists to visit North Guwahati and spend quality time on that side. On that side, hospitality services will also be developed. Therefore, the newly launched ropeway is expected to be an overall boost for the city’s tourism, he said. According to the report, the new river ropeway, linking Kachari Ghat in Guwahati to Dol Govinda Temple on the northern bank, passed the well known Umananda temple on a small island.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Minister, who inaugurated the new river ropeway, recently tweeted that this is the longest and one of the most advanced river crossing Aerial Tramway systems in the country. According to officials, a twin-track, single-haul, bi-cable double reversible jig back system is used by the ropeway. The ropeway consists of two cabins, each of them having a capacity of 30 passengers plus one operator. The river ropeway project was built at a cost of Rs 56 crore. For the public, tickets have been fixed at Rs 60 for a one-way trip and Rs 100 for a round trip, the report added.
