Rishikesh Ropeway, Neelkanth Mahadev, Wildlife Corridor: The proposed ropeway project from Yog Nagari Rishikesh to Neelkanth Mahadev Temple will now become more than just a facility for devotees. The Uttarakhand government is planning to develop it as a model project for environmental and wildlife conservation.
While granting approval to the project, the National Wildlife Board clearly stated that the natural movement of wildlife should not be affected because of ropeway construction.
Special wildlife corridor to be developed
Following this condition, the state government will develop a special wildlife corridor in the project on the lines of the Delhi Dehradun Expressway. This corridor will allow elephants, leopards, deer and other wild animals to safely pass through their traditional routes beneath the ropeway structure.
Project gains speed after wildlife board approval
The Rishikesh Neelkanth Mahadev ropeway project has now gained momentum. After approval from the National Wildlife Board, the district administration has provided one hectare of land for the project. Following the report from the Wildlife Institute of India, the government will also receive possession of forest land required for the project.
The ambitious project worth nearly Rs 450 crore is now expected to move towards implementation soon. Once completed, the Rishikesh Neelkanth ropeway will become the first green ropeway project in the country where infrastructure development will be carried out while keeping wildlife conservation at the centre.
Journey of 6.5 kilometres to be completed in 15 minutes
According to Housing Secretary R Rajesh Kumar, the ropeway will cover a distance of nearly 6.5 kilometres and will reduce travel time from Rishikesh to Neelkanth Mahadev Temple to just 15 minutes.
At present, devotees have to travel around 30 kilometres by road or complete nearly nine kilometres on foot to reach the temple.
The ropeway will be constructed from Tapovan in Rishikesh through Triveni Ghat up to Neelkanth Mahadev Temple.
Route passes through sensitive forest and wildlife zone
The entire route falls within the forest area of Rajaji Tiger Reserve and passes through dense forests around the Ganga river. Because of this, environmental precautions are being taken seriously for the project.
The area is considered highly important for the movement of Asian elephants. Apart from elephants, the forests are home to leopards, sambar, chital, barking deer, wild boar, nilgai, goral, langurs and monkeys. Tiger movement has also been recorded in some parts of the region.
Keeping this sensitive biodiversity in mind, the National Wildlife Board has made it mandatory that traditional wildlife routes should not be disturbed during construction and operation of the ropeway.
