Friday, 01 April 2022 | Vinod Chamoli | New Tehri
The devotees will be able to reach the Surkanda Devi temple through the newly constructed ropeway which will start from Kaddukhal to Surkanda Devi temple in Surkut peak near Dhanaulti in the Tehri district soon. A team of BRIDCUL officials conducted a spot-inspection and a successful technical check on the ropeway on Thursday. Following this after the nod from the administration the ropeway will become operational which is likely to be inaugurated by chief minister Pushkar Dhami soon.
Currently, to reach the Surkanda Devi temple, the devotees have to walk through a one and a half kilometres steep climb from Kaddukhal to the temple. Due to this, the aged people and differently-abled persons are not able to reach the shrine easily. The family members of such persons have to arrange mules and Dandi to transport people to the shrine for seeking the blessing of the goddess.
The officials expect that Surkanda Devi temple will become major tourist destination for adventurist along with the devotees once the ropeway becomes operational here.
The state government had started the construction of the Surkanda Devi ropeway in 2014-15. The trial of the ropeway to reach the temple was conducted successfully. On Thursday, a team of engineers, including BRIDCUL MD Kundan Singh Negi and GM RP Uniyal conducted a technical inspection of the ropeway. The team of experts examined all the technical parameters of the ropeway, including all the equipment and cable. At the same time, all the office bearers went up from the cabin of the new ropeway to the temple and came back down. The Dhanaulti SDM Lakshmiram Chauhan and district tourism officer Atul Bhandari were also present on the occasion. Officials said that the ropeway has been found to be correct in the technical examination.
The 16 trolleys will be operated with the support of six towers in the Surkanda ropeway project. A trolley will be able to accommodate six people, which will enable three to four thousand devotees in a day. It is being stated that in the initial phase, the fare is proposed to be kept at Rs 150 to Rs 200 per person.
